The Christmas Shadow
by shadowbleach
Summary: From the very first moment she met him, Shadow didn't trust Jack Frost, but he just wouldn't leave her alone and there was someting about him that kept drawing her in. Jack Frost/OC
1. Prologue

The Christmas Shadow

Author's note: I have been meaning to post a story for a while and my Star Trek one hasn't gotten very far yet, so I decided to post this one. I know it's after Christmas, but I'm writing this for me, not you, so therefore I don't care. It takes place in the third movie but this first chapter is just after New Years after the end of the second movie, when my character first comes to the North Pole and meets all of the elves.

Disclaimer: I am writing this story for my own entertainment and I own nothing except my own character-who is a Digimon, by the way, and I don't own that either, just the character.

They were at Elfcon 1 for the second time in three months. This time was a bit different than the first. This time, the emergency originated from their very own workshop. One of the computers started to act up and as the elves were scrambling to get it working again, a large spider-like monster shot out of it. But as soon as it fully appeared, another creature followed. This one looked almost human, if not for the fact that most of its skin was black (and I mean like the color black) until just under the eyes, the skin around and above the eyes was almost white, it had no visible nose or mouth, cat ears and a big, bushy tail.

The two creatures started battling and the elves dove out of the way. The end result was one creature fading out and another slightly injured. Just before the spider-creature disappeared completely, it lashed out and slashed through the cat-creature's forehead. The elves came out of hiding and immediately ran to the aid of their currently unconscious savior.

When Shadowmon opened her eyes (which were as black as her skin), she found herself surrounded by people she didn't know, but vaguely recognized from her fight with Dokugumon. She sat up and they all backed away.

"They have good reason to be afraid," she thought as she struggled to stand. Finally one of them rushed up and grabbed her when she stumbled and started to fall. It was then that she realized that these people were all very short and child-like. She blinked a few times before attempting to speak.

"Hello," it was the only thing that seemed appropriate to say at the moment.

"Hello," was the simultaneous response she got from what seemed like hundreds of people. Finally, a taller person, who still seemed oddly child-like, stepped forward. He had a stern look on his face which caused the others to back up even farther than when they had realized she was awake.

"Hello, my name is Bernard," he stuck out his hand. "who are you?"

"Uh, my name is Shadowmon, you can call me Shadow" she shook his hand and was bombarded with another chorus of "Hello Shadow" followed by Bernard shouting at them to get back to work.

"If you don't mind me asking, where am I?" He gave her a strange look and asked,

"You don't know?"

"No, I was just following Dokugumon. I was fighting her over in London before she just took off. I honestly don't know where I am." He hesitated before answering.

"You're at the North Pole."

There was a silence and for a moment, Bernard thought he had made a mistake in telling her.

"Oh, okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I know all about this stuff. My tamer is a demon."

"Oh. That explains a lot." With that, Bernard proceeded to bark orders at some elves (as she had figured they were since this was the North Pole) to start fixing the broken equipment from the fight.

"Um, since this is mostly my fault, I should help."

Bernard looked at her and shook his head. Then, after telling another elf to bring her to the kitchen, he started walking away. He didn't get far before a machine that had been completely snapped in half lifted up off the ground, reattached itself to the rest of the machine and immediately started working again. He turned around, surprised to see Shadow hadn't moved from where he had left her, and she was staring at him.

"I'm telekinetic," she said simply. "I told you I could help."

What might have taken all day or longer, took only a half an hour at most. The machines and computers and anything else that had been broken or even scratched, was in top working order with only Shadow's powers.

"Would it be safe to assume that Bernard is pleased?" Shadow had to ask as an elf with horn-rimmed glasses and a smile on his face passed by her.

"Are you kidding? This is the happiest I've ever seen him and I've known him for a while. By the way, my name's Curtis." She shook his hand and smiled, or she would have if she had a mouth to smile with.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Curtis." She looked around. Curtis, noticing her distraction, asked what was wrong.

"Nothing, I was just wondering where Santa is."

"Oh, he's on his honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?"

"Yeah, he hasn't been Santa Clause for very long."

"Really?"

"Yep, it all started eight years ago when the last Santa fell off the roof of a man named Scott Calvin…"

A/N: Well I hope you liked it, but if you didn't, that sucks because I don't care. Ratings and reviews are welcome but I'm not pushing for them. The next chapter will be longer. It will be at the beginning of the third movie and will, of course, feature Jack Frost.


	2. The Meeting

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: For anyone that cares, I had meant to put the second chapter up last night, but I decided I'd much rather watch my new Star Trek movie, so I did that instead. I'll try to get the third chapter up tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my character.

It had been almost four years since Shadow had first come to the North Pole and met the elves. She had quickly decided to stay there and help and, once Santa had returned, asked if she could be of any assistance for future Christmases. Santa just laughed and told her that she was welcome to the Pole anytime she wanted. So, every year, in early November, Shadow would come and help the elves until Christmas and leave again shortly after.

She was cleaning the ice off of the walkway in front of the workshop when she sensed someone approaching, someone she didn't recognize. The person stopped next to her.

"Well now, you don't look like one of the red man's little workers." Shadow glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye, but kept working. He had whitish-blue, spiked hair and was wearing a blue pin-striped suit and sunglasses.

"What do you know, ladies and gentlemen, he's not as dumb as he looks," she muttered. She hoped that he would leave her alone after that, but no such luck. Not only did he not walk away, he also had the nerve to laugh.

"Feisty, I like it." At this point, Shadow just couldn't take it anymore. She stood up fully (which didn't do much to help, seeing as she was still shorter than him) and looked him straight in the eyes (with a very annoyed look, might I add).

"Can I help you?" The question itself may have been polite, but in no way was her tone. It didn't really help the situation, because her attitude only caused that annoying smirk on his face to get bigger.

"Yes, you can,"

"As if that wasn't obvious," Shadow thought as she rolled her eyes. "Why else would he be standing here bugging me?" When he didn't say anything else, she huffed out a breath.

"In what way may I be of assistance?" She asked sarcastically.

"I'm here for the meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures."

"That would be in the kitchen." With that, She turned and started back to work.

"And where might that be?" Shadow had to admit, he was very persistent.

"Well, maybe if you came to a meeting once in a while, you would know," she muttered under her breath before saying, "Follow me," and briskly walking into the workshop.

The man followed, futilely trying to make conversation with her, starting with introducing himself as Jack Frost, the personification of the season of winter. She said nothing to him until they reached the kitchen.

"In there," was all she said before leaving him and going back to work. She didn't get much done, as she found herself lost in thought. She didn't like, nor did she trust this Jack Frost person that had just randomly wandered into her life, and she hoped that she would never again have to see or deal with him. Once again, she had no such luck.

She walked back into the workshop later only to find the one person she dreaded seeing, standing right in front of her. His back was to her and she thought that she could turn around and go back the way she came, but just as she was about to turn, he did.

"Well, hello again mystery woman. Fancy meeting you here." Shadow mentally slapped herself for getting into this situation again. She tried to ignore him and keep walking, but he followed her. This time, he was determined to find out who this cat-girl was. He found he didn't have to pry very much because at that moment, Santa chose to walk by and noticed her standing there.

"Oh, Shadow, there you are. I've been looking for you." Jack smirked.

"So, her name's Shadow, huh?" He thought to himself.

"Yes, Santa?" As annoyed as she was that Jack now knew her name, Shadow couldn't just ignore Santa. After all, he was such a gracious host.

"You heard about Carol's parents coming right?"

"Yes."

"And about how they can't know that we're at the North Pole."

"Of course." Santa hesitated. He didn't quite know how to put this.

"You see, you look kind of-" He decided to take another approach.

"Would it be possible to make yourself more…human?"

"Yes, Kisa (who would be the tamer mentioned in the first chapter, by the way) and I have been working on that and we've recently succeeded in creating a form that would and allow myself to appear human but still have access to my powers."

"Excellent. I'm leaving tonight and I'll be back here at the Pole tomorrow morning, so if you need anything until then, ask Curtis." With that, he walked away, nodding to Jack as he passed. Shadow had forgotten about him, until…

"So, Shadow-"

"Ugh!" She stormed away. This time, thankfully, he didn't follow her. She was so irritated that she didn't even see Curtis until she had nearly run him over.

"Whoa, Shadow! Try to watch where you're going." She sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Sorry Curtis, I'm just so mad! That stupid Jack Frost had to go and-"

"Jack Frost? So you've met him?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, stay away from him, he's bad news."

"Yeah, I figured that out on my own."

"No, he's worse than that. He's here for community service for trying to upstage Santa Clause and a whole bunch of other things."

"Community service? For how long?"

"I don't know, until the council has decided he doesn't need to anymore."

"Hopefully not for too long. I can't stand that guy!" Shadow moaned. If she had been angry before, well, let's just say nobody had better get in her way anytime soon. Even Curtis could see this (cause we all know Curtis isn't the sharpest tool in the shed). He quickly said his goodbye and rushed off. She retired to her room soon after, thinking that tomorrow would definitely pass without incident. It was Christmas Eve, after all, what could possibly go wrong?

A/N: Okay, so I know that I said that I would make this chapter longer than the first, and it is, but not by much. So the next chapter I promise will be even longer.


	3. Conversations and Annoyances

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: I had meant to update this yesterday, but my sister decided we were going to play our new Wii game so I didn't get time. I feel I must warn you, I do swear in this chapter, but only once, so I feel the rating doesn't need to go up. And now, I present to you, chapter 3.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

When she opened her eyes, Shadow was happy. She was always excited on Christmas Eve. Her happiness didn't last long though, only until she remembered the events of the previous day. She sighed, annoyed, her good mood for the day was ruined and she hadn't been awake for more than a minute.

"Well," she thought as she got ready for the day, "I'll just have to do my best to ignore him. I will not let some jerk that I just met yesterday, put a damper on my Christmas spirit."

Shadow looked in the mirror. She had to admit, she looked good as a human. She had the same shoulder-length black hair that she always did except that, instead of it being small, individual hairs all connected to the skin of her head, neck, and shoulders, (like a cat's), it was in long strands (like a human's) that kept falling in her face. The skin on her face and hands (which were the only things showing out of her black long sleeved shirt, pants, and shoes) were pale-not sickly, but still pale-and stood out from her black hair, eyes, and clothes.

She licked her lips and swiped her hair out of her face for what seemed like the thousandth time, before turning and walking out the door. She had nearly passed her before Mrs. Clause even saw Shadow.

"Oh, Shadow! Good morning! I almost didn't recognize you."

"Good morning Mrs. Clause. It's alright, I know I look kind of weird."

"Nonsense! You look beautiful. And you can call me Carol."

"Well thank you Carol, you look lovely yourself today."

"Thank you, Shadow. I just can't wait until my parents get here."

"I'm really happy for you. Sometimes, I wish I had parents."

"Did something happen to them?"

"Oh, no. You see, I'm essentially a computer, I was created by humans. I never had any parents, or family of any kind, really."

"Oh," She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "I am so sorry!"

"Don't be. It's just a fact of life, I don't really think much of it."

"Well, you can spend Christmas with us. We'll be your family this year."

"I would like that very much, thank you." Shadow genuinely meant it. Nobody-except Kisa, who didn't have a family of her own either-had ever offered for her to be a part of their family. Carol smiled back at her, but it turned into a small frown when she looked at the time.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you. I want to pick out the perfect tree before Scott and my parents get here. Bye." She waved before hurrying away. Shadow, her spirit renewed at the thought of spending Christmas with Carol and her family-of being part of their family, started humming Let it Snow as she made her way to the workshop. She was stopped once again, but this time, it was by the voice that she had dreaded hearing all morning.

"Well, aren't you in a good mood this morning?" Shadow turned to see Jack Frost sitting in front of a café drinking what looked like (and most likely was just because it was the North Pole's most popular drink) hot cocoa.

"Not anymore, I'm not." He acted like he hadn't heard her.

"You don't look like someone who would be singing a Christmas carol." That slightly-but only slightly-miffed her. She glared at him.

"For your information, I was humming, not singing. And it was not a Christmas carol."

"Well, it certainly sounded like one." She knew that she shouldn't even be talking to him, but she was already this far, so she thought she might as well finish the conversation.

"But it wasn't. Seeing as I was humming the song Let it Snow, and it snows typically from late November into early March in the northern hemisphere and from June through August in select areas in the southern hemisphere, as well as the fact that it snows all year round in Antarctica, the North Pole, Greenland, and the northern-most areas of Alaska, Canada, Russia, and a bunch of smaller countries in Europe and Asia, I would say that the song Let it Snow is a winter song, not a Christmas one." She let out the breath that she had been holding through her rant, brushed the hair out of her face, and sat down hard in the chair across from Jack's. She looked at the surprised look on his face and laughed. He quickly got over his shock and smirked at her.

"You know a lot about winter." He set his cup on the table between them and rested his cheek in his hand.

"As I should. After all," She smiled slyly at him. "Winter is my favorite season." His smirk grew.

"Really?" Shadow rolled her eyes at his smart-ass tone.

"Yes, really. I'm here aren't I? I would have to at least like winter a little to come up here and suffer through the cold every year."

"You don't live here?" This question held no surprise behind it, and she got the feeling that he already knew at least part of the answer.

"No, I don't live here. I live in Wisconsin, which is an environmental screw-up, by the way."

"How so?" He actually looked curious this time.

"Oh how can I put this?" Shadow started sarcastically. "In the summer it's usually a hundred and freakin' ten degrees out, and in the winter it's negative a hundred and freakin' ten degrees. It gets rather annoying."

"So if you don't like it, why do you stay there?" She paused and thought about it for a minute.

"I have no idea." It was an honest enough answer. The only reason she lived there in the first place, was because that's where Kisa lived, and she didn't much like it there either. So Shadow really didn't know why they still lived there.

It was at this moment that she looked at the clock and realized how late she was. She knew Curtis wasn't going to yell at her or anything, but he was definitely going to ask where she had been, and she wasn't quite sure what she should tell him. Curtis didn't trust Jack-of course, neither did she, but Curtis wouldn't be talking to said untrustworthy person (we all know better than to think that, but Shadow doesn't)-and she didn't want to tell him that she had been talking with that very person.

"Uh, I should be going," Was all she said before getting up and rushing off. Jack stared after her for a while, then he too got up and left.

Shadow arrived at the workshop without any other encounters, that is, until she ran into Curtis.

"Shadow, there you are. Where have you been?" Shadow had, on the way, decided to tell him the truth.

"I was talking to Mrs. Clause." That is, until she actually was confronted by him, then she chickened out. What she had told him was not a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth. She had indeed been talking to Mrs. Clause, but had she come to the workshop immediately after their conversation, she would not have been late.

"That's okay, as long as you're here now." He took her word for it, as he had never known her to have lied to him before. He gave her instructions on what she needed to get done before Santa returned with Carol's parents, which was not much, so she took her time doing it, and still finished with ten minutes left to spare before Santa's scheduled return.

When he did get back, right on time as usual, she opted to not go and greet them, but to wait to introduce herself until the in-laws, as all the elves were calling them, were settled in. And then, the problems started…

A/N: Okay, that's the end of that chapter. It's longer than the first two, so I'm very satisfied with myself. Until next time, then.


	4. The Start of a Huge Problem

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, I couldn't update yesterday because I was in New York celebrating the New Year, but I'm home now, so I can update, and I am. I've decided to introduce a new side to Shadow, a more caring and friendly side. Of course, this side is only shown to Lucy, and as soon as Jack shows up again, it's right back to normal for her. So, on to chapter four!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my character.

It started with a commotion. Okay, so it wasn't really a commotion, more of a loud conversation between a group of people. When she looked closer, Shadow realized that she recognized these people. One of them was Curtis, that much was obvious. The other three she knew as Santa's ex-wife, her husband, and their daughter, Lucy.

She had met them a few times when Santa had been visiting them and his son, Charlie-whom she had also met-and someone needed to a message delivered to him, so they would send Shadow, who could be there and back within a few minutes. Of course, after the first time, when she became acquainted with them-particularly Lucy-she always stayed far longer than she was supposed to.

Shadow laughed when the three of them became entranced by the wonders of the workshop and ran off leaving a very confused and annoyed Curtis. She snuck up behind Lucy, who was admiring the accessories to some toy she wasn't really familiar with. She bent down and whispered in Lucy's ear.

"Hi," Lucy jumped and whirled around.

"Shadow!" she shrieked before embracing her in one of her 'magical hugs' as Santa called them. Shadow laughed and hugged her back.

"It's been a while, how are you Lucy?" she asked. Lucy pulled away from the hug and launched into a fully detailed account on everything that had happened between the last time they had seen each other, until that very moment.

Shadow was having fun, but it was interrupted when Curtis walked up and stated that there was something he needed her to help him with. She frowned, she didn't know what Curtis could possibly need her to do, but she didn't complain.

"Um…Lucy, will you be alright on your own?" Lucy smiled at her.

"Yep, I'll be fine."

"Okay," she sighed. "I'll be right back, I promise." As it turned out, all Curtis needed her for was to get Lucy's parents to 'stop interfering with the toy making process,' as Curtis was putting it.

All Shadow had to do was walk up to them and they were instantly distracted, conversing about how great it was to see her again and how everyone was since the last time they had seen each other. After asking were Lucy was and saying that she would help them find her after a quick word with Curtis, they walked away and she turned to him.

"Curtis, they didn't seem to be doing anything wrong to me." He wasn't convinced.

"You know we're behind. We can't have anything slow us down or an entire continent could go without presents."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Bernard."

"I'm supposed to. I'm the head elf."

"No, you're the temporary head elf. That's only until he gets back."

"Well, until then, I'm in charge, and-"

"And nothing, Curtis. I liked you better when you were the number two elf, and I hope you go back to being that person when Bernard comes back." With that said, she went with Laura and Neil to go find Lucy.

When they finally found her, Shadow was not impressed. Lucy was talking to Jack Frost. He must have said something that frightened her because with a shout of, "Hey, mom!" she ran over to us. Shadow kneeled down, took Lucy by the shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and told her,

"Lucy, stay away from that guy, alright?"

"Who is he?" Neil asked, glancing at the man still standing on the steps, watching them. Shadow looked where Neil was looking and glared.

"He's bad news, that's who he is." Her voice was cold, her eyes never leaving Jack. She then turned back to Lucy. "Promise me you won't go near him?"

"I promise." Shadow looked at Laura and Neil.

"You two, also. Don't go near him, you can't trust him."

"But who is he?" Neil insisted.

"His name's Jack Frost and his heart is as cold as his name. Just, please, stay away from him." Her voice started out harsh, but it softened when she made her request. They both nodded and all three of them went off to continue enjoying themselves. They had invited her to come along, but she politely declined. There was something important she needed to do, she had told them. Really, what she had in mind, she didn't need to do, but it was important to her.

She walked up the stairs where Jack was still standing-seemingly waiting for her-and almost growled at him (but she's a cat, and cat's don't growl).

"Stay away from Lucy and her parents." He was unfazed by her anger. He shrugged and stated simply,

"She was the one who started talking to me."

"I don't care. You scared her, and if I ever see you even looking her-or her parents'-way, the rest of your stay at the North Pole will be very unpleasant, I can promise you that."

She walked by him, but before she reached the top of the stairs, he said something to her, something that stopped her in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" She turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"I said 'I know what you are, I know what humans did to you, and I know that your kind hates them for it.' That being said, why do you care about one little girl?" Shadow walked back down the stairs, and slapped Jack straight across the face. The elves all stopped what they were doing and stared, but with a sharp glance from Shadow, they all turned back to what they were doing. She turned, facing Jack once again, leaned close-because she knew the elves were listening-and whispered sharply,

"That is none of your business. Don't you dare judge me. You don't know anything about me."

"On the contrary, I know that-" She struck him again.

"I don't want to hurt you, Jack, but that sounded an awful lot like a threat, and if you really know anything about my kind, you would know that we don't take kindly to threats." He was smart enough (for once) to stay quiet as she walked away this time.

She didn't see him for a while after that. She had been helping some elves fix a slight malfunction in the teddy bear-making machine (I don't know what else to call it) which they really could have fixed on their own, but it was keeping her occupied, so she didn't mind.

It was then that Jack decided to make a reappearance. He was holding a cup of hot chocolate and describing it in ways that made Shadow want to puke. Then, before she could say anything to stop them, the elves all rushed off, only one bothering to ask if she wanted to come along. She declined, mostly because she didn't trust Jack alone by the machine, but also for other reasons.

"Don't you want any of this delectable, steaming, hot cocoa?" She rolled her eyes and stood up from where she had been laying, studying the underside of the conveyer belt.

"Uh, no."

"Why not?"

"What's it to you?"

"I just don't want you to miss out."

"Okay then." And with that, she grabbed the cup out of his hands.

"I didn't mean for you to take mine."

"That sucks, really it does, too bad I don't care. Wait…no, I still don't care." The drink inside the cup suddenly froze over, surprising Jack, because he hadn't done it. As quickly as it had frozen, it melted, and Shadow took a sip.

"mmm, you were right, this is good. Better chilled though…" She said thoughtfully. When her attention retuned to Jack and she saw the look on his face, she couldn't help but laugh. "Surprised? You're not the only one with cool powers around here…oh dear, did I just make a pun? Ah well," she laughed again. "I'm telekinetic," she took another sip. "Not that it's any of your business."

He still hadn't said anything. Shadow waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Jack? Are you reading me?" He grabbed her hand, causing her to pull it back quickly. He smirked.

"You just get more and more interesting every time we meet." She made a face.

"Ugh, go away! Shoo!"

"Only if you give me my cup back." She handed it to him and, surprisingly, he left. Shadow leaned back against the machine and sighed as she realized that when she had told Jack to leave Lucy and her parents alone, she had said nothing about herself, and that she was probably going to be seeing a whole lot more of him today.

"How can this day possibly get any worse?" She mused to herself. It was at this time when elves started coming up to her and told her that machines were starting to malfunction all over the workshop.

"Like this, I guess," she thought as she rushed to fix the machines and get the workshop back on track. This was definitely going to be a long day.

A/N: Okay, so that's the end of that chapter. I decided, since I had mentioned Bernard in the prologue, that I should probably give some reason as to why he wasn't there in the third movie (even if it wasn't a very good one), so I hope you're happy with it.


	5. Stressful Times

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, I feel really silly for just now realizing that I have a review, my very first too! (I just made a rhyme, didn't I?) So, thanks totally-blonde, I appreciate it. In this chapter, Shadow starts to warm up to Jack, but that's only because she's too stressed out to know any better... Now, I think I've said enough, so, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

It was definitely turning into a long day, it seemed that every time she fixed a machine, it would malfunction again five minutes later. Shadow was exhausted and the problems didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. She sat down for just a moment and the next thing she knew, Jack was standing in front of her. She looked up at him and sighed.

"I don't have time to deal with you right now, Jack."

"Actually, I'm here to bring you to the kitchen."

"Why?"

"The elves need you to fix somethin-"

"Not again!" She stuck out her hand. When he didn't do anything, she rolled her eyes. "Well? Help me up!" He did so without a word and she started off, before stopping and turning.

"Come on." He still didn't move.

"I think I'll just stay here." She grabbed Jack by the collar and started walking again.

"No, you're coming with me. I'm not stupid enough to leave you on your own in the middle of a chaotic situation." He laughed at that. She shot him a glare before letting go of his suit and slowing to walk next to him.

They made it to the kitchen and Shadow got to work. She was so busy she didn't notice Jack slip out the door and go back to the workshop. It took her a while to get everything back in order, because she didn't know the origin of the problem, but she finished without too much trouble.

When she realized that Jack wasn't in the kitchen anymore, she went to make sure he wasn't doing something stupid (at least, that's what she tried to convince herself she was doing) and found the workshop, once again, in total chaos. And, in the middle of said chaos, she found Jack.

"Jack, what are you doing?" She was afraid to ask, but she did anyway. He smiled at her from behind piles of paper.

"I'm just helping clean up." He motioned to the paper in his hands. Shadow rolled her eyes and held out her hands.

"Give it here," He handed her the papers and they immediately lifted into the air and reorganized themselves. "You looked like a fool, you know," she told him. "Now, go do something productive, I'll take care of things here." He thanked her-it didn't sound very sincere, but she was too busy to really notice-and left. Not until later would she realize the mistake she had made in letting him leave.

She turned to the elves, who were still trying to stop the machine from spewing out papers. She sighed and moved her hands over the controls. Everything stopped, including the elves. They thanked her, and continued to do so as she organized the papers and constructed a new control knob for the panel.

"Try to keep a closer eye on this one," she said as she attached it. "I can always make more, but we don't want a reputation for losing things that shouldn't be getting lost, now do we?" They all had a laugh, and Shadow was relieved that she could take a break before having to go and fix something else.

It was only ten minutes later when she found herself even more stressed than she had ever been before. So far, she had been in three arguments with Curtis (which is a lot in only ten minutes) and snapped at one poor elf who hadn't done anything except ask her opinion on a repair he had made (she did apologize). Her last nerve was on the verge of snapping, and she knew it.

It was at that moment when she heard the voice of the one person she knew could make her feel better. She practically ran over, but what she found, wasn't what she had expected.

"Jack, what are you doing?" He was carrying a bag and walking away from a room that had nothing but vending machines and a closet. He smiled at her.

"Nothing. I was just looking for Santa." Normally, Shadow would have been suspicious, but she was so stressed that she didn't really think about it.

"Oh, you haven't seen Lucy, have you? I thought I heard her."

"No, I haven't seen her. Are you all right? You look terrible." Once again, Shadow should have been suspicious, but, once again, she wasn't.

"I'm fine," she insisted (she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him, or herself). She started to walk past him, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Are you sure? You don't-"

"I SAID I'M FINE!" she said angrily as she whirled around. She saw the surprised look on his face and slumped against the railing, her hands covering her face. "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to yell." He seized the opportunity (because he had crossed her once before, and he wanted to stay on her good side) to place a comforting hand on her back and ask what was bothering her (not that he really meant it, but it kept her distracted).

"I just feel overworked. It's no big deal, everyone's working hard and with all of these problems and…just…everything's going wrong. I shouldn't be complaining. I feel stupid." She-on impulse-leaned against Jack and he moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders.

"You're not stupid. You should take a break."

"Curtis would kill me if I did that."

"Why? You don't even work here. You volunteer, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I told him. He told me if I didn't want to be here I should just leave, so I told him to stick it." they both laughed and Shadow felt herself relax. She saw the bag in Jack's hand and motioned to it. "Hey, what's with the bag?" He looked at it like he had just noticed it himself.

"Oh, this? It's just a little present for the big guy. I thought he might like it." Shadow tilted her head, she had thought that Jack didn't like Santa.

"Really? Well, that's nice." She didn't think much else of it. In the distance, Shadow heard Curtis calling for her. She sighed.

"I should go before he gets really mad." She leaned forward and laid a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for listening, Jack." She walked away, leaving behind a stunned Jack Frost.

Twenty minutes later, after another harsh argument with Curtis, Shadow decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to go and meet Carol's parents. She passed Jack and Santa, who both nodded in greeting, but didn't say anything. She didn't say anything to them, either. When she found Carol, she thought that she should just turn around and go back the way she came.

Carol was sitting on the couch, crying and holding what looked like the remains of a tree-topper. Her parents-at least, she assumed they were her parents-were comforting her. Shadow was just about to leave, when Carol looked up at her and quickly tried to dry her face.

"Oh, Shadow. Come in." She hesitated before walking into the room, staying by the doorway. "Come sit down." Carol was patting the spot on the couch next to her. Shadow, once again, hesitated, before doing as she was told.

"I'm sorry to interrupt."

"Oh, no, you're not interrupting. Shadow, I'd like you to meet my parents. Mom, dad, Shadow volunteers here at the…factory."

"You don't look like all the other Canadians." Carol's father said. It took Shadow a minute to figure out what he was talking about. In all the chaos, she had forgotten that Carol's parents didn't know that they were at the North Pole.

"Oh…um…I'm not from Canada. I'm actually from Wisconsin. I just come here to help out."

"Well, for an American, you look too young to be working in a toy factory."

"I'm old enough, trust me." She exchanged a smile with Carol. "By the way, where were Jack and…uh…Scott going?" Carol's smile slowly dropped and Shadow mentally slapped herself for upsetting her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no. It's okay, we just got into a fight. He went with Jack to calm down."

"Ah, I see. That's kind of why I came here. I went to apologize to Curtis for the last three arguments we had, but it just turned into another one. Today is just not a good day, is it?"

"Why were you fighting with Curtis?"

"It was just stupid little things. I think the stress is getting to us." Shadow picked up the broken star that was sitting between them. "Hmm, you know," she said as she picked off the shards of glass still stuck to the frame. "I kind of like it better this way. It's simple, yet still beautiful." When she was finished, Shadow held it out to Carol. "Don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right." Carol said slowly as she took the star from Shadow. "It's very beautiful…I'm sorry, Shadow, but I have to go." Shadow smiled, glad that she had been of assistance.

"That's okay, I should go too." She watched as Carol hurried out the door, followed by her parents, who seemed very confused. Shadow was about to leave herself, when she felt something, something she recognized as a rift in the time stream.

A/N: Okay, so that ends that chapter. The next chapter is the alternate universe, where Jack is Santa. It will go for two chapters before switching back, I think…


	6. We Meet Again

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: To anyone that actually reads this story-which I doubt there are any because this is a Christmas story and it's the middle of January-sorry I haven't updated in almost a week, but I had school and homework and…a whole bunch of other things going on, so I never had time. I do, however, have time now (mostly because it's a weekend), so here is chapter six.

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie, the song, or anything really, except my character.

There was an emergency at the North Pole, and Santa wasn't doing a single thing about it. The elves were scrambling to get out of the path of the giant spider-creature and the cat-human-looking-thing that were doing battle. Santa was just standing there watching. He, for some reason unknown to the elves, looked amused, like he had been expecting this.

The end result of the battle was one creature fading out and the other slightly injured. Just before the spider-creature disappeared completely, it lashed out and slashed through the cat-creature's forehead. The elves came out of hiding and immediately ran to the aid of their currently unconscious savior.

Before the elves could do much of anything to help it, Santa walked up behind them, causing the elves to scatter (they really hated him, if you couldn't guess). Santa picked up the creature and walked off with it. The elves were curious why he had done so and what he planned to do when it woke up, but none of them were about to ask.

When Shadowmon opened her eyes, she was alone, at least as far as she could tell she was. She was on a bed, in a large room, and that was as much as she observed, because as soon as she tried to sit up, her vision blurred and her head started to ache.

"You shouldn't be up, you're not completely healed." Okay, so she had been wrong, she wasn't alone. She tried to look at the person-a man, as she could tell by the voice-but she couldn't focus. She reached up to her face, finding that her raw under-layer of digital structuring was still exposed on the side of her face.

"Yes, you're right. Thank you." She felt a hand on her arm, pushing her back down. She laid back and her world came back into focus. When she saw who was standing over her, she nearly shot back into a sitting position-the reason she didn't being that his hand was still holding onto her arm.

"How the heck did I get to the North Pole?…Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." The man, she recognized as Santa Clause. She hadn't really liked the fact that he had turned the North Pole into an amusement park, but she didn't have anything against him personally-she didn't even know him, so she couldn't really judge him.

"…You don't know how you got here?" Santa was surprised by this. He had known she was coming-Curtis had told him in the original timeline. He found there were a few things he hadn't expected. One being that Shadow clearly had had no idea where she was, and another being that she was actually very polite-of course that could have been because of her head injury, but he didn't think so-and so far, she had not displayed any sarcasm, which he had come to expect of her.

"Well, I know how I got here, I just didn't know where here was. I'm sorry." This caused Santa to become very confused. What did she have to apologize for?

"Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong." She had a guilty look in her eyes.

"Actually, I have. I wasn't paying attention and I should have been. Dokugumon has wronged me a few too many times, I guess. We destroyed half of your workshop, and for that, I am terribly sorry." Santa blinked in surprise. That was all? She felt bad for breaking equipment? Now he was _really _confused.

"You don't have to be sorry, I have the elves cleaning it up now-"

"Oh, no, I should be helping, I really should. It was my fault." When she tried to sit up again, he pushed her back down and shook his head.

"No, no. You're staying right here until you're healed. The elves are taking care of the hard labor, that's what they're there for." Shadow looked at him in disbelief, but she didn't say anything about it. Then she suddenly realized something.

"Where are my manners?" It was Santa's turn to look at her in disbelief. She had been nothing but polite since she had woken up. "I haven't introduced myself." She stuck out her hand. "My name is Shadowmon, but you can call me Shadow." It was at this point when Santa started laughing. Shadow, not knowing what was so funny, was slightly concerned for his sanity.

To Santa, this was just plain ironic. In the other timeline, Shadow had, at first, refused to even talk to him, let alone tell him her name. Here, she had outright introduced herself, and without a single shred of sarcasm or hostility.

"Um…excuse me, but…are you okay?" He realized that Shadow had no idea why he was laughing-because it had been her counterpart from the other timeline, not her-and immediately stopped. Shadow had a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine. Something just struck me as funny. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh, okay." She wasn't entirely convinced, but she knew better than to assume things about people she didn't know. It was at this moment when she heard music coming from somewhere outside-just the music, no lyrics-and she realized that she knew the song.

"Frank Sinatra," was all she said, Santa looked confused and surprised at the same time.

"Excuse me?"

"The song," she explained and Santa strained his ears to hear what she heard with her cat-like ones. "It's New York, by Frank Sinatra. They always play it in New York on New Years. I love this song." Santa smiled and nodded. They were silent for a few minutes, before Shadow broke it.

"Well, I should be going soon-after I can actually stand, that is. My tamer will want to know where I disappeared to."

"Your…tamer…?" Shadow's eyes widened for a moment.

"Oh, yeah, um, it's a Digimon thing. You probably wouldn't understand…well, maybe you would, but it's kind of hard to explain…" She was slightly flustered, Santa could tell. He decided to cut her out of her mini-rant.

"Well, I'll let you rest now and you can leave when you feel better. You're welcome here at the North Pole anytime you want, free of charge." They exchanged smiles (well, Shadow's eyes showed she would be smiling if she could) and Santa left Shadow alone in the room. She soon fell back to sleep and awoke in darkness.

She checked her face to make sure it was entirely healed before leaving without a trace, save for one small post-it note stuck to the pillow that read:

_Thank you for helping me. I hope to see you again, soon._

_-Shadow_

A/N: Okay, so that's the end of that. You should probably have figured out by now that when I said Santa, I meant Jack Frost (if you didn't figure that out on your own, you're an idiot, no offence). I know Jack was a little out of character, but that was because it was a first impression (for Shadow at least) and he wanted to make a good one. The next chapter will be the scene in the alternate timeline from the movie.


	7. Strange

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: …Actually...I have nothing to say here…except, on with the story, chapter seven!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

In the next couple of years, Shadow visited the North Pole frequently, even bringing Kisa along to meet everyone (she did that in the original timeline too, I just never mentioned it). Then, they just stopped coming for a while.

When they did turn up again, they were different, almost bitter, and very sarcastic and hostile, even towards each other. It was at this point in time that Santa realized that something had happened-in both timelines- something terrible, that had caused a severe change in their personalities.

It was Christmas Eve, almost four years after Shadow had 'first' come to the North Pole. She had come alone this time, Kisa having not been in the mood to deal with people. To be honest, Shadow didn't want to deal with anyone either, but she had promised she would come, so there she was. After being bumped into for what seemed like the thousandth time, Shadow was about to snap.

"I am going to punch the next person that bumps into me, and I don't care if it's a child," She mumbled. Someone laughed behind her and she turned, finding Santa grinning at her with a box in his hands. "What? It would be self defense," He looked at her skeptically. "Well, that's what I would call it, anyway…" Santa laughed again and gave her the box.

"Peanut butter cups…again…of course. You know me too well" Shadow said, opening the package and eating one (she loves peanut butter, in case you couldn't figure it out).

"It wasn't a problem. You're very easy to please." Shadow rolled her eyes before her cat ears suddenly popped out of her head (kind of a partial transformation between her human and Digimon forms) and twitched.

"There's some weird guy over there," she pointed into the crowd. "Curtis just called security." Santa looked where she was pointing and a strange look came over his face, a kind of nostalgic, yet amused look.

"I'll take care of it." He said before walking away. Shadow was confused, but she didn't say anything or try to stop him. She watched the two interact and, after a minute, she shrugged and walked in the opposite direction.

After another bunch of encounters with annoying people, Shadow found herself at the reindeer pens. Comet was standing alone in the corner, looking frightened. His expression brightened a little when he saw her, but only a little. She walked over and patted his head, very gently.

"Hey there, boy. How are you?" Comet made random sounds that, when listened to closely, formed words.

"I missed you, Shadow. A boy kicked me, I think I'm bleeding." Shadow looked him over and found that he was, in fact, bleeding from a wound in his leg. She bent down, waved her hand over the cut and watched as it repaired itself before her very eyes. When she stood up, she received a big lick of thanks from the grateful reindeer. She also re-grew the hair in a large bald spot on his side.

"I missed you too, Comet," was all she could say. She felt guilty that she hadn't stopped this abuse of all of the reindeer. Comet looked at her face and nudged her.

"It's not your fault." He was too intuitive. Shadow sighed.

"I know, but I wish there was more I could do."

"You do enough." She laid her forehead against his.

"Thanks Comet. You're too good to me." He licked her again, this time in comfort. Shadow tried to smile at him. "I have to go, I'm sorry." He nodded and she looked around, making sure no one was watching, before sneaking him-and eventually, all of the reindeer-extra food. After she fed the reindeer, she wandered off again.

There were less people around, so she assumed that the show had started. She didn't feel like going there yet, so she went the opposite way. She didn't wander too far, though. She may have been lost in thought, but she was still aware of her surroundings, she had to be in this place. When she had walked in a full circle and found herself right back where she had started, Shadow decided to take a look at the show.

She got in for free, as always, and stood in the back. The sight she was greeted with was strange. The man from earlier was standing on the stage yelling nonsense about how he was really Santa Clause. The children were all laughing, but Shadow was not amused. She didn't like this unknown man, so she glared at him. Then the security guards grabbed him and Shadow let out a sigh.

"This is ridiculous," she thought. She looked up at the top of the stairs-as did everyone-as a little girl appeared there. At the command of the strange man, the girl threw what looked like a snow globe. Santa caught it, and he and the strange man exchanged words that didn't make sense to her.

The man had a pen in his hand. When he pushed the top, Santa's voice sounded out of it.

"I wish I'd never become Santa at all," it said. Shadow wasn't sure what was happening, but she recognized this feeling. It was a shift in the time stream. It started out small, and she hardly noticed it, but it quickly grew to be unbearable.

She looked up suddenly-not having noticed that she had lowered her head-and saw that Santa and the strange man were disappearing. Just as they vanished completely, Shadow's entire world went black.

A/N: Okay, that ends that chapter, as well as the entire alternate universe section. Sorry this chapter was so short, but it was really hard to write. I couldn't think of anything, so I made it as simple as possible. I haven't watched the movie since before New Years, so I didn't know the dialogue from the movie, so I couldn't put that in either. And I think I'm talking too much, so I'll end it here.


	8. Anger and Pain

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, back to the original universe. It starts out right were it left off. So, if you want to go back to chapter five to remember what happened, go right ahead. Now, here's chapter eight.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my character.

Shadow blinked. The rift had gone away, but now she felt as if she had missed something. She knew she hadn't, as she had only been standing there for a few seconds-or so the clock indicated-but still, the feeling was there. She shook it off and went to the workshop.

When she got there, things seemed more organized than before, but it was still pretty bad. She stopped to talk to Charlie when she saw him. He told her that he decided to help out when he heard how bad things had been going. Shadow told him that she was so relived he was there. They shared a laugh and she went off to look for Curtis. She had decided to apologize to him properly.

She went upstairs when she couldn't find him, and leaned against the railing, looking down, when Santa came in, followed by Carol and her parents. Shadow was a little surprised at the turn-of-events, but she was happy that Carol's family was being let in on the secret.

She found it funny when they started freaking out-in a good way-and went to join them. But before she could even stand up straight, Curtis ran up to Santa with Lucy trailing behind him.

"You have to see what Frost did to my parents," Lucy practically shouted. Shadow's jaw dropped when she saw Laura and Neil.

"Oh my god." It was hardly more than a whisper. Shadow was shocked, she hadn't trusted Jack, but she had never expected him to do something like this. They could die! But that wasn't the worst of it.

"I found her locked in a closet." When Curtis said that, Shadow got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach (well, she doesn't actually have a stomach, but you know what I mean).

She had been there, he had been acting suspicious-she now realized-and she could have stopped him, but she didn't. She _had_ trusted him-the one thing she had told herself never to do-and he had betrayed that trust, not that she expected anything different from him.

The shock had turned to guilt, which quickly turned into rage when the police elficers came into the workshop, hauling Jack with them. Shadow wanted nothing more than to go down there and beat him to a bloody pulp, but she knew that Lucy had gotten off worse than her, so she stayed where she was.

Shadow knew that the Legendary Figures' powers didn't work on each other. Santa knew it too, but asking Mother Nature if she could thaw Jack had been worth a shot. Without any other options, Santa returned to Lucy's side. When he bent down and started talking to her, Shadow's cat ears popped out and she strained to hear what they were saying, but she couldn't hear from where she was standing.

Lucy started walking toward Jack. Shadow's eyes widened and she tensed and gripped the bar in front of her, leaving indents. She breathed a sigh of relief when all Lucy did was hug him-which was still weird.

She tilted her head when cracks appeared along his body and his hair melted. She couldn't help but think that he looked good with brown hair before remembering that she was mad at him. He looked happy, and Shadow felt her resolve weakening, so she turned away. She didn't want to forgive him, but she knew that if she kept watching him, she would.

Had she stayed facing forward for a bit longer, she would have seen Jack look up at her. She would have seen the guilty look that formed on his face, that and something else, something she wouldn't have recognized, had she been looking at him.

When Neil called for a group hug, Shadow shook her head and walked away. She didn't feel like getting close to anyone, especially such a large group. She did, however, turn when she heard Santa announce that Carol was about to have her baby. She went along, only because Carol had asked her to (not in the duration of the story, before that).

She stood away from everyone else, but close enough that Carol could see that she was there. After the baby was born, the elves were all crowding around and Shadow locked eyes with Carol. She gave an apologetic look and left. She just didn't want to be there.

She went to the stables to wait for the crowd that was coming shortly for Santa's departure. The sleigh was almost ready to go and the reindeer were getting hooked up. She smiled at Comet, who was at the front of the line and he nodded in a kind of greeting.

Shadow sat in relative silence, save for the small sounds the elves and reindeer were making. When Santa and all the elves came in, she slipped out the door, only to run into the one person she really didn't want to see.

Jack held out his hand to help her up, but she batted it away. She stood and brushed past him. She didn't think he had seen, but he had, she had tears in her eyes. She figured that, even if he had seen, he wouldn't care and, once again, she was wrong. Jack didn't know why, but it hurt him to see her in pain, mostly because he had caused it.

Shadow didn't stay, she couldn't stay. She went back to her room, gathered her things, and left, without telling anyone. They would know, and, hopefully, they would understand why.

A/N: Once again, this chapter is too short. I have now stopped caring. The next chapter is probably the last, but I'm not really sure (but it most likely will be) and I will try to get it up tomorrow…er…today, because it's after midnight, so it would be today…probably…I don't really know.


	9. New York

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, so I've been getting a lot of reviews. I didn't even realize that there were people reading it. So thanks again totally-blonde and to the new reviews from Joey and Wafflesrule. Also, thanks to Wafflesrule, this will not be the last chapter. I don't know what I'm going to write after this, but I'll think of something. With that said, here's chapter nine.

Disclaimer: I don't own the movie, the characters, the song, or anything except Shadow. Heck, I don't even own the character of Kisa. That idea came from my best friend, Kisa (we both used our real names for our characters).

At the North Pole, Jack Frost was enjoying his newfound powers (I decided that since he's still the personification of winter, he needed to keep his powers, but he should be able to thaw anything he freezes, since he is also thawed now) and freedom. He was looking for Shadow because he hadn't seen her in a few days, not since Christmas.

He had thought that she was just avoiding him-and he didn't blame her-but then he realized that, even if she was avoiding him, the North Pole wasn't that big, and they would have run into each other eventually. When that didn't happen, he became concerned. He asked Santa and received a simple answer,

"She left." Jack didn't understand.

"What do you mean 'she left'?"

"She doesn't live here, Jack. She went home." Jack didn't know what to do. He didn't know where she lived-he knew she lived in Wisconsin, but he never thought to ask where exactly in Wisconsin she lived. Santa noticed his silence and sighed. "But, if you really need to talk to her," he paused.

"What?" Jack really did need to talk to her. She probably wouldn't listen, but he had to try.

"She always goes to New York to celebrate New Years with her friends."

"Yeah, I know that. Do you realize how hard it would be to find her in that crowd?"

"They stay away from the crowds, near the buildings, close to the front, but to the far right." Jack's expression brightened. He thanked Santa and left.

That night (because it was New Years Eve), Shadow, Kisa, Kisa's boyfriend, and some of their other friends were bundled up against the biting cold, counting down until midnight. They all yelled at the top of their lungs-even though they didn't need to-and when the ball reached the bottom, they all screamed 'Happy New Years' and the couples (which was everyone, except Shadow) had their New Years kiss. Shadow made mock gagging sounds and wandered off, laughing.

"Happy New Years." Shadow stopped in her tracks and looked to where the voice came from, which was right in front of her.

"What do you want?" Jack had been hoping that her attitude would be lighter in the happy atmosphere, but he was wrong.

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you." When she turned away from him, he did the first thing that came to his mind. He grabbed her wrist, swung her around, and kissed her. She resisted at first, but eventually kissed him back.

When he pulled away, she looked at him, surprised, before slapping him hard across the face. Jack touched his cheek gingerly and smiled. He had realized that he loved her and, now he knew, she loved him too. Then, a song came on that he recognized.

"Frank Sinatra," he said suddenly. Shadow looked at him, surprised.

"Excuse me?"

"The song, it's-"

"New York, by Frank Sinatra. I know. I love this song," She said warily. "But, how did you know that?" Jack scoffed.

"You're not the only one who knows songs, you know." Shadow looked away.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry." She said quietly. It wasn't a very convincing apology, but Jack didn't mind. "Why are you here?" Enough beating around the bush.

"We need to talk." Shadow rolled her eyes. She was though being timid.

"Yes, we do. Later, though. You're ruining my night." With that, she turned away and went back to her group. Jack watched as she and another girl started singing and dancing like idiots. The other's around them were rolling their eyes and laughing at the two of them. Jack laughed too.

After the song was over, he lost track of the group. He didn't find them again all night. When Shadow had said later, she must have meant the next morning, because that's when he found her again.

Shadow and the other girl, who Jack recognized as Kisa, Shadow's tamer, were ice skating not too far from Time's Square (which is where the ball drops, for those of you that don't know). They were both very good, doing jumps and flips of all kinds. They never once slipped, that is, until Shadow saw him watching. Her eyes widened and she fell hard on her arm.

Jack ran over to her (he didn't slip because of his powers), but Kisa was already there, helping her sit up and examining her arm. Shadow looked up at him, causing Kisa to look up too. She knew who he was-Shadow had told her-and she glared at him.

"Can I help you?" Well, that sounded familiar. Shadow had said the exact same thing to him when they first met, in the exact same tone of voice, too. Not only that, but, now that he was looking closely, he realized that they looked a lot alike (and yes, I know that I said that they had met in the alternate universe, but he never really paid attention to detail then).

Kisa had black hair, the same as Shadow's. The difference was, Kisa's hair was up in a high ponytail and her bangs were all swept over to the left side, covering one of her almost teal-colored eyes. Their facial structures were similar too. They looked just like sisters and, as far as Jack could tell, they acted like it.

"It's okay, Kisa. He's just some idiot I know." Shadow knew that Kisa knew who he was, but she felt the need to insult him.

"Fine," she said reluctantly. She turned from Shadow to Jack. "Consider yourself lucky. I would kill you if Shadowmon wasn't here." She went back to looking at Shadow's arm.

"Kisa," Shadow said in warning.

"I know, I know," She looked at Jack. "Sorry," She said unconvincingly. Shadow gave her a look, which Kisa returned before standing up. "Well, you seem fine to me. Watch what you're doing next time, you dummy!" Kisa cuffed Shadow on the back of the head and skated away, leaving her alone with Jack. She looked up at him.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me up?" He grabbed her hand, braced his foot against her skates, and pulled her up. Shadow brushed off her pants before looking at him. "So, I guess you want to talk now, huh?" She said with a bit of sarcasm. Jack nodded, but didn't say anything. "What, you want me to go first?" She said, again with sarcasm. He nodded again and she sighed.

"Oh, where to start?"

A/N: Okay, I'm ending it here, partly because I need something for the next chapter, but mostly because I really don't know where to start. So, that's the end of this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as possible.


	10. The Telling of a Story

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, I thought of something to write, which is kind of why I'm updating, because I wouldn't be if I didn't. Also, I have another new review. So, thanks jess, I'll keep your questions in mind and try to answer them. There are some answers in this chapter, and I'll try to get the rest in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my character.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for hours, even though it was only a few seconds. When Shadow couldn't take it anymore, she averted her eyes.

"I hate you," she suddenly blurted. "I hate you so much." Jack didn't say anything, so she continued. "I never trusted you, but you just couldn't leave me alone, could you?" She didn't give the chance to answer. "You irritated me, you lied to me, you hurt my friends, you tricked me, and you used me. And still, I actually tried to like you, but you just used that against me. I hate you." She finished her rant, breathing hard.

"I know." Shadow grabbed him by the collar and her tone became almost desperate.

"So why can't I stay mad at you?" Their faces were already so close. Jack closed the distance between them. Shadow held him close for a minute before shoving him away. "I don't want to love you."

"I know, I'm sorry." Shadow turned away and crossed her arms.

"It's not your fault, it's mine." She let out a shaky breath. "Just, leave me alone for a while, okay? I need to think." She skated to the side of the ice rink and took her skates off. Then she left, forgetting that Kisa was standing on the other side of the rink, watching.

After Shadow left, Kisa slowly skated over to Jack and looked at him, but didn't say anything. Jack started getting creeped out by her staring. Kisa then sighed and started talking,

"Just so you know, as Shadowmon's best friend and tamer, I feel I should inform you that if you break her heart, I will break your face and take great pleasure in doing so."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good to know." As she turned to leave, Jack couldn't keep the questions buzzing in his mind contained.

"So, how exactly did you two meet?" Kisa turned back to him and raised her eyebrow.

"She's my Digimon partner. She came to me when I got this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a device the size of her hand. "It's a digivice. It keeps her powers in check and lets me know where she is at all times." She put it back into her pocket.

"How exactly does that work?" Kisa gave him a questioning look.

"I thought you knew about this stuff?"

"Not really. I mean, I know about Digimon, how they were made, and when they were almost destroyed, but that's about it."

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that."

"Can you tell me?" Kisa hesitated.

"I think it would be better if I showed you." She held out her hand toward him and it was engulfed in a black flame. Jack was surprised and took a few steps backwards. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you. Didn't Shadowmon tell you? I'm a demon. Not like you hear in religions, like servants of Satan or anything, we're actually quite peaceful."

"She might have mentioned that…" He still didn't step closer. Kisa rolled her eyes, stepped in front of him and pushed her hand against his forehead.

Jack suddenly couldn't see Kisa or the ice rink they had been standing on. What was in front of him was a mostly empty room, save for a couple of computers in one corner and about five people crowded around them. Suddenly Kisa was right next to him, and he jumped back, startled.

"Where are we?"

"A college in Japan, where those students," she gestured to the people in front of the computer. "first had the idea to create an artificial intelligence. There was no real purpose to the project, just to prove it could be done. But the project lost its funding and was shut down before it was completed."

The scene changed to a much larger room, filled with many more larger computers. "The project was picked up by scientists two years later, but for much darker purposes. They rewrote the program, gave the Digimon powers and near invincibility. They were to be used as weapons of war, hence the name, Digimon: digital monsters. Those horrible people made them into monsters. However, that project, too, was shut down."

The scene changed again, this time showing a large forest. Suddenly, from out of the trees burst Shadow, being chased by five other Digimon. One was an orange lizard, about half Shadow's size. Two others were the same size as the lizard, but looked like they were made out of rocks. The final two were much smaller, pink fluff balls that were floating.

At first, Jack thought that Shadow was about to get into a fight, but suddenly, the five others tackled her to the ground and they all rolled around, laughing.

"Who are they?" When he looked to Kisa for an answer, she had a sad, distant look in her eyes.

"The lizard is Agumon, the rock-creatures are Gotsumon, and the small ones are Kuramon. They were Shadowmon's best friends, and the closest thing to a family that she had."

"Were?…" He let the question trail off as the scene, once again, changed. They were inside a cave, watching as Shadow was curled up against Agumon in the I middle, sleeping. The others were sleeping up against the wall. Suddenly, Shadow stirred. Her ears visibly twitched and she stood and went to the mouth of the cave.

Jack followed her, and what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. The forest was gone, leaving only barren land stretching in all directions. The look in Shadow's eyes was one of absolute horror. She rushed back into the cave and woke her friends. When they saw what had happened, they too stopped and stared. Then Agumon started running, and the others looked startled for a moment before giving chase.

Then, Jack found himself on another stretch of land, the same barren desert as before, but clearly in another area. Shadow was kneeling on the ground in front of Agumon, who appeared to have fallen. Three men in thick suits and holding guns were in the distance. Suddenly, Agumon started to fall apart, his data disappearing into the air.

"What's happening?" Kisa looked at him expectantly.

"He's being destroyed. The scientists that created them decided that they were potentially too dangerous, so they ordered them destroyed. All of them. Obviously they didn't succeed, but the damage was done. I thought you said you knew about this?"

"I did. But I never imagined it like this."

"Yes, it was a very painful procedure. It was like having every cell ripped out of your body, one by one. Pure agony." When Agumon had disappeared completely, Shadow stood up, shaking. Then, Jack saw one of the men aim a gun at her and fire. He was shocked when the other four Digimon pushed her and she landed back on the ground. The blast of the gun hit them and they all collapsed.

"Why did they do that?" He couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"They cared about her so much, that they were willing to give their lives for her. They thought that her life was worth more than theirs, so they died in her place. She's never gotten over that and she blames herself." After the four disappeared, Shadow's black irises suddenly shrunk, revealing that they were actually her pupils, and her eyes were really a striking green color.

"In case you were wondering, that only happens when she gets really mad. It's some kind of blind rage thing. I guess they thought they were being funny when they thought that one up."

"I've seen her mad, and I've never seen that before."

"Then she wasn't really mad. As much as you may have thought she was, she wasn't. Look." She pointed to where the three men were standing. Jack first glanced back at Shadow, or at least, where Shadow had been before. He then looked to where Kisa had been pointing just in time to see Shadow pounce on two of them, cutting into the backs of their heads with her claws.

"You can probably guess that Shadowmon was a little sore at them for killing her friends. They were always very protective of each other." That's when realization hit him. Shadow was so protective of Lucy because she never wanted to feel the pain of losing a friend ever again. That thought caused Jack to develop a guilty feeling that was overwhelming.

The other man had turned and dropped his gun when Shadow attacked him, cutting him across the chest area. The three men fled and Shadow dropped to her knees and let out a cry of sorrow that was painful to listen to. When Jack looked at Kisa, he saw that she was crying too. She noticed him watching her and she wiped her eyes.

"It hurts me to see her in pain," she explained. "Partly because of our mental connection, but mostly because she's my best friend." Jack followed Kisa's eyes as the scene changed again. Shadow was laying alone in the cave, unmoving.

"She wanted so badly to die, but she couldn't or that sacrifice would have been in vain. She was alone for ten years before we met." Then the scene showed Shadow, walking on all fours, sniffing the ground. "She's looking for food. Digimon eat data, but there wasn't any left that was edible in this area after the attack. About a third of the Digital World was destroyed, almost all of the Digimon living there were annihilated."

The ground beneath Shadow suddenly opened up and she looked panicked before falling though. Kisa sighed. "The digivice called to her, but I think that somebody could have come up with a better way of going about it." She looked up, so Jack did too. He saw the sky, not of the Digital World, but New York City. Shadow fell from the sky and hit the concrete, hard.

"That looked like it hurt."

"I don't doubt that it did." Then, Kisa walked up to Shadow, but she was also standing right next to Jack. He looked confused.

"This is when we met for the first time." Shadow struggled to a kneel and glared up at the other Kisa, who stuck out her hand.

"Need some help?"

"Not…from…a human." Jack was surprised at the hostility in her voice. Kisa seemed very calm.

"I never said I was human."

"Then...what are you?"

"I'll tell you…when you learn to trust." Shadow thought about it for a minute, then allowed Kisa to help her up. The scene disappeared and Jack found himself back at the ice rink. Kisa looked at him.

"Are you okay? You look like you're going to puke." He didn't answer, but instead ran off, leaving Kisa standing there, confused.

"You're welcome." She called after him. He didn't turn around, or even stop, but raised his hand as a thanks. Kisa rolled her eyes and wandered off to find Shadowmon.

A/N: Okay, so this was a really weird chapter, but I felt it was important for Jack to know about Shadow and Kisa's relationship. Also, he now has some information that will help him the next time he tries to talk to Shadow, and maybe it will work out better between them. I'm not sure what I'll be writing next, but when I know, you'll know, because I'll update.


	11. Back to Normal

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Well, Shadow didn't talk much in the last chapter, but she will in this one, mainly to Kisa. This chapter is to show the similarities and differences between Shadow and Kisa. Also, Kisa mentioned to me that the religious comment in the last chapter might be slightly insulting, and she would be mad at me if someone was insulted, because I made her be the one to say it, so sorry if anyone found it insulting.

Disclaimer: I only own my character.

Jack Frost felt like an idiot. He had spent all day trying to find Shadow, not once thinking to put his hand into his pocket. When he did, though, he found a scrap of paper which read:

_I read your memories, by the way_ (one of Kisa's abilities)

_Thought you might need this._

He flipped the paper over and found an address, her address, which meant that it was Shadow's address too. He smiled and left for Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Kisa was fed up. Shadow had been moping all day and it didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Kisa threw a shoe at her.

"Get up already!" Shadow glared at her.

"Hey, I leave you alone when you're depressed."

"Yeah, for, like, ten minutes, then you jump on me."

"…No I don't…"

"Uh huh, sure."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"I said it first."

"Well, I said it second."

"You are so annoying."

"The feeling's mutual."

"You think you're annoying?"

"Actually, yes, but so are you." Shadow stuck out her tongue and Kisa returned the gesture.

"Oh, be quite." She muttered.

"Make me."

"Maybe I will."

"I'd like to see you try." Shadow then pounced on Kisa and the two rolled to the ground. They wrestled until Shadow pinned Kisa. She smirked.

"I win."

"Yeah, yeah, you win. Now get off of me." Shadow laughed and got up. She turned an helped Kisa to her feet. "Well, you seem to be in a better mood." That earned her a shove.

"You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?"

"Nope!" Kisa smiled brightly (and slightly sarcastically, if that makes sense).

"Remind me again why I'm friends with you."

"Because I rock like that and you know you love it." (in case anyone was wondering, this is from a real conversation that I had with Kisa)

"That explains everything."

"And your sarcasm is so fun to live with."

"Well, what do you call that?"

"That is what I call sarcasm, but at least I don't use it every other sentence."

"I do not! I resent that."

"I bet you do."

"See? There you go being sarcastic again! It's not just me."

"I'm just doing it to annoy you. It seems to be working."

"Shut up."

"So, we're back to this again?"

"Yep."

"…"

"…"

"Well, I'm thoroughly bored."

"Agreed."

"…"

"So…what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, that helps."

"Good to see you back to your normal sarcastic self."

"…Okay, now I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

"You'll never know."

"You're an awful person."

"And you're a dork, but that never stopped either of us before."

"...True."

"Did we ever decide what we were going to do?"

"…No, I don't think we did."

"We got distracted again, didn't we?"

"Yep."

"Great."

"Yep."

"Stop saying that."

"Fine, what are we going to do?" Shadow asked anxiously.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Why do I have to make the decision?"

"Because I don't want to."

"So that automatically means that I have to do it."

"Naturally." That would have been the spawning of another argument, but it was interrupted before it even had the chance to start by the doorbell ringing. They both sighed, cheated out of something interesting to do.

"Can you get that?" Shadow asked.

"Why? Can't you?"

"I've got something to do real quick. I think you can handle answering the door one time."

"I don't know, it might just kill me."

"If it does, I'll say nice things at your funeral." (once again, from a real conversation)

"That's all I'm asking," the doorbell rang again. "Oh shut up! I'm coming!"

"Smooth." Shadow said as she walked in the opposite direction of the front door.

"You shut up too." Kisa opened the door and wasn't surprised at who she found standing there. "Took you long enough to get here." Jack looked uncomfortable.

"Is Shadow here?"

"Yeah, she's doing…something…over there." She gestured back into the house. "I'm sure she'll get done soon." Just then, Shadow came around the corner.

"Hey, who's at the…door…" The sentence dropped off when she saw Jack. "Oh, you."

"Yeah, there she is. I'll just leave you two alone now."

"Kisa, don't you dare leave me." Kisa walked past Jack and out the door.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. Play nice, you two." And then she left. Shadow groaned.

"Well? Are you going to come in, or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" He stepped inside, but didn't move further. Shadow sighed, walked over, and shut the door. Her arm brushed his and she turned away. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Apology not accepted." She said bitterly, walking back towards the living room. "Come on, sit down. Kisa said I can't kick you out (or at least, implied it), but that doesn't mean that I have to talk to you." She went to the kitchen.

Jack had been sitting for a while and Shadow hadn't come back yet. Suddenly, there was a crash and he jumped and went to see what had happened. He found Shadow in the kitchen, picking up broken glass and swearing repeatedly under her breath.

"You have quite the mouth." She looked up, surprised. She hadn't heard him come in the room. Then, her hand slipped and she dropped the glass in her hand, clutching said hand to her chest. Jack bent down in front of her. "Let me see it." She shook her head.

"There's nothing you can do about it." He grabbed her hand and looked at the large cut on her palm. Instead of blood, blue particles of what he assumed was data was pouring out of the wound. It also wasn't running down her hand, but floating up into the air and disappearing. "Told you," she muttered.

Jack reached down to touch it, but Shadow grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch it. It'll burn you."

"What?"

"Raw data is like acid. It burns through any foreign object that it touches."

"Oh."

"Yeah." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and opened it. Data was sucked out from inside the phone and the wound sealed up, leaving no trace it had ever been there. "Kisa probably mentioned that Digimon are nearly indestructible. This is what she meant. As long as there's a computer nearby, we always heal."

"Then how did your friends die?" Jack asked before he thought about it. Shadow's eyes widened.

"She told you about that?" He hesitated.

"Well, she showed me." Her expression darkened.

"They called us monsters, but they were the real monsters. They designed those weapons to be the only things that could destroy us, 'just in case,' they said. Just in case of what? I don't know, I doubt I ever will. They hated us, they used us." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I don't like being used, Jack."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"Can we talk about it now?"

"...Yes."

A/N: Well, that's the end of that chapter, what was it, chapter eleven? I never thought I'd get this far, wow! So, sorry to leave you hanging like this, but I still have homework to do, and it's getting late. I'll update again tomorrow or Friday.


	12. Insanity

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Well, this chapter is probably going to be boring, but I'm not sure, because I don't know what I'm going to write yet. I'm writing this thing off the top of my head (as I have for almost every other chapter). So, if you don't like it, feel free to say so (even though I won't pay it much mind).

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

Shadow flopped down on the couch and turned on the television. She looked up to see Jack standing in the doorway, staring at her.

"What? I can't watch TV while we talk? I can multitask!…sometimes." Jack couldn't restrain his laughter and sat down next to a pouting Shadow. She shoved him, but eventually couldn't hold back her own smile. "Oh, be quite."

"Sorry." He apologized, trying to compose himself, and failing (miserably, might I add).

"What was it you wanted to talk about? I thought that I'd gotten my message through the first time." She said, suddenly bitter.

"I just wanted to apologize."

"Yeah, I got that. I'm still not sure I forgive you yet."

"I understand."

"…You do?" She was truly surprised.

"Yes. I don't blame you for being mad at me-"

"Oh, that's an understatement," She interrupted him. "Sorry, continue." He didn't say anything for a while and they sat there in silence. "Well?" Shadow finally said. He looked at her, startled, like he had been jolted out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I don't know." Shadow looked at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean you don't know? Why would you even come here if you didn't know what you were going to say?"

"I just needed to see you." He said quietly.

"So, we're just supposed to sit here until you think of something to say?"

"Well, you've already got the TV on." Jack said, defensively. "Watch that."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Then why did you turn it on?"

"Because I felt like it. You got a problem with that?"

"Maybe I do."

"Well, that sucks." After a brief pause, they both doubled over, laughing again. Shadow had to lean on Jack for support because she was laughing so hard. When they finally calmed down, they looked at each other, realizing how close they were. Shadow jerked away from him.

"Um…I…think I…should…-" She was cut off by Jack, who put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back into him. She stiffened but gradually relaxed into his embrace. They stayed like that, watching-but not really paying attention to-the television. And that's how Kisa found them when she came home.

"Whoa! Didn't see that one coming. Way to go, Shadowmon!" She cheered.

"Shut up." Shadow said, flustered.

"No way! You did the same thing to me."

"That was entirely different."

"No it wasn't. You wouldn't stop talking when I got a boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend! I'm still mad at him."

"Uh huh, sure." Jack watched the two banter, clearly amused. Shadow looked at him and punched him in the arm, at the same time as Kisa did on his other side.

"Ow." He said, rubbing both his arms. "That hurt."

"Good," they said together.

"That was the point," Kisa started.

"Yeah, private conversation. You shouldn't eavesdropping." Shadow added. Jack looked at them, not knowing what to say.

"But, I'm sitting right between you," was all he could think of.

"That doesn't excuse you." This time, Shadow started.

"You really need to learn to respect people's privacy." Kisa added. Now, Jack was really confused. They had just been arguing, and now they were teaming up against him.

"They are certainly a couple of very complicated girls." He couldn't help but think. In the time it took him to think that (which isn't very long, by the way. He's not that stupid), the two had switched subjects and he had no idea what they were talking about.

"-I know. That is so dumb."

"What is?" He asked before really thinking about it. Shadow and Kisa looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Why do you need to know?" Kisa broke the silence.

"Do we need to go over the privacy matter again?" Shadow asked. Jack couldn't hold back any more.

"You're both insane."

"Why yes, yes we are." They stated at the same time. "Thanks for noticing." Shadow added at the end. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "But you're still not forgiven."

"For which thing?" Kisa asked.

"All of them." Shadow said matter-of-factly.

"I'm okay with that."

"I thought you might be."

"I'm not," Jack put in.

"Well, your opinion doesn't matter." They both, once again, said together.

"Do you two plan this out?"

"What do you mean?" They asked together, honestly confused.

"That. Speaking at the same time."

"Oh, that." Shadow thought for a second. "I guess I never really paid it any mind."

"Me neither." There was an awkward silence in the room.

"You never even noticed?" Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No," they, again, said together. "Not really." Again, the room grew silent. This time, though, Shadow was the one who broke it.

"I'm bored again."

"That does seem to be a continuing problem, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…so, what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know."

"And, of course, because you don't know, it falls on me to figure it out, right?"

"Exactly."

"I hate you sometimes."

"But only sometimes. The rest of the time you love me."

"You're an idiot. Actually, I'm the idiot. Why do I hang out with you?"

"Haven't we already gone over this?"

"Hmm, so we have."

"Do you want me to remind you again?"

"No, that's okay. I'm not taking any chances in boosting your already abnormally large ego."

"Aww, you're no fun."

"Yes, I'm such a party-killer." Shadow said sarcastically. As Jack was listening to them, he realized that the way Shadow spoke to Kisa was similar to the way she had spoken to him when they first met. Her sarcasm seemed to come so naturally to her, and now he knew it was because she was used to this kind of behavior.

A/N: Okay, this chapter was horrible, I know. The next one will be better-and longer-I promise. Also, I've decided that Jack needs to go back to his regular cocky, arrogant self (just a little less self-centered). That will be in the next one too. Also, I promised that I would have this one out by Friday, and I didn't, but I started it on Friday (it's 2:00 in the morning right now), so that has to count for something.


	13. Pranks and Bonding Time

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter takes place a few days-maybe even a week-after the last chapter and I don't know how good it will be. Also, I don't know who you are, Joey, but I like you. You say nice things about my chapters, even the ones that suck.

Disclaimer: I own only my character.

Jack had been sleeping peacefully when a rather large amount of water was dumped on him. He jolted awake to see two black-haired girls running out of the room, laughing. He sighed-wondering why he had agreed to stay with them-before giving chase. He caught Shadow relatively quickly (because she let him catch her). He grabbed her around the waist-from behind-and picked her up.

"Hey! Put me down!" She yelled while still laughing.

"Not until you apologize."

"Never!" She had decided to forgive him the previous day and had insisted that he stay the night-they both had (Shadow and Kisa, that is)-and, apparently, this was the reason why.

"Why not?"

"You don't deserve it. Besides, you were such an easy target." She grabbed his wrists and twisted them (while she was still suspended in the air). He yelped and let her go and she landed gracefully on her feet. "If you're going to stay here, you should really learn to sharpen your senses." He tried to grab her again, but she suddenly jumped out of his grasp. "See? You'll never win this way."

"Are you sure?" Jack smirked and grabbed her waist. She spun around quickly and pushed him back. He fell against the couch.

"Pretty sure." Her smirk matched his as she walked away. He watched her go into the kitchen before following her. He listened in on her conversation with Kisa.

"Well, that was fun," Kisa said.

"Heck yeah!" They both started giggling.

"We're going to be having a lot more fun if he stays here."

"I don't know if he would want to. He's got his job and everything. Plus, this place is just miserable."

"Eh, don't worry about it. If he really cares about you, he'll stay. If he doesn't, then I get to beat him up. It's a winning situation either way you look at it."

"You would say that."

"I would, and I just did. And besides, his job may be important, but he'll stay. I know he will." Shadow sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Probably? I am right."

"You're an idiot."

"And you're insane. So we're even."

"I think you're both insane." Came Jack's voice from the door. He was leaning up against the frame, watching them.

"And we don't think you're an eavesdropper," Kisa started.

"We know you're one," Shadow finished. "Oh, by the way, good morning. Did you enjoy your wake-up call?" They both started laughing again.

"Laugh now, I'll get you back." He was still wet. Shadow waved her hand and the water drifted off of his clothes and dropped into the sink.

"There's coffee if you want it," Kisa pointed to the coffee maker on the counter.

"Yuck," Shadow put in.

"Oh, shut up. Coffee is good."

"No it's not."

"You say the same thing about mint and gum and a lot of other things most people like. You're just weird."

"Everyone is, in their own special way."

"Touché."

"And besides," Shadow turned to Jack, who was reaching for a coffee mug. "If you drink that, I won't kiss you until the smell goes away, which won't be for a while."

"I think I'll pass on the coffee this morning." Jack said, dropping his hand.

"Good boy." Shadow smiled. She got up and walked past him.

"What, no good morning kiss?" He asked, referring to her earlier statement.

"No, I don't really feel like it."

"Then I'd rather have the coffee."

"Then I won't kiss you at all today."

"…Fine." Shadow patted him on the head.

"You know I love you, isn't that enough?"

"No."

"Well, get used to it, 'cause that's what you're going to have to live with."

"Is it too late to change my mind?" She knew he was joking, but she still smacked him on the back of his head. "Ow. What was that for?"

"For being an idiot."

"Join the club!" Kisa shouted.

"You be quiet in there!" Shadow shouted back.

"Do you say that to a lot of people?" Jack asked.

"No."

"Yes she does. Don't listen to her," Kisa shouted to them again.

"Didn't I tell you to be quite?"

"You did. I didn't listen."

"No, I never would have guessed." Shadow said sarcastically. She turned to Jack, who was looking amused. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Uh, huh. Sure." She said, with a skeptical look on her face. "Well, I have things to do." She kissed him on the cheek and started walking away. He grabbed her hand and pulled her mouth to his. She laughed before kissing him back. When they pulled away, she smiled. "But it can wait." She went back into the kitchen. "Hey, Kisa?"

"I know, I'm leaving." She winked at Shadow. "Don't mess up the house." Then, she left.

Later that day (because you don't need to know what happened after that), the three of them were outside making a snowman. Well, Shadow and Kisa were making a snowman. Jack was standing around, doing nothing. Then-when he wasn't paying attention-a snowball was 'mysteriously' thrown at him and hit him in the face. He sputtered before glaring at the two girls, who were acting like nothing had happened.

"What was that for?"

"What was what for?" They asked together. Suddenly, another snowball hit him in the back of his head. He spun around, but nobody was there. He looked back at the two and focused his glare on Shadow.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't throw it."

"But you're telekinetic."

"But I didn't _throw_ it. Besides, of all people, I would have thought that you, Jack Frost, wouldn't mind if snow was being thrown at you."

"Well, maybe I do."

"Oh, darn. I almost cared this time. Almost, but not quite. Maybe next time." She squeaked as Jack tackled her to the ground (snow-whatever). "That was mean." She pouted.

"Oh darn. I almost cared this time." He smirked at her and she lightly slapped him.

"That's my line."

"Well, I stole it."

"You'd better not do it again, or I'll be very upset with you."

"What would you do to me if I did?"

"Horrible things."

"Like?"

"I'd make you sleep on the couch."

"Oh, no!" He mocked surprise. "That _would _be horrible." She slapped him again (still very lightly, she's not trying to hurt him).

"If I were you, I'd make him sleep on the floor. Or, even better, outside." Kisa said, standing above them. They had both forgotten she was there.

"I like the way you think." Shadow smiled up at her. "In fact, I think that's your best idea yet."

"Why thank you." Shadow pushed Jack off of her and got up. The two of them finished the snowman and stood back to observe their work. They both looked up at the same time.

"It's snowing." Shadow observed. They both-again, at the same time-looked at Jack, who was still on the ground. The rest of it was being covered by a blanket of snow, except for the area where he was laying.

"Showoff." They said together. Jack's eyes were closed, but he smiled, indicating that he wasn't sleeping (I would hope he wasn't) and that he was feeling very smug at the moment.

"Come on, Mr. All-Powerful-Snow-Maker-Guy," Jack's eyebrow raised as he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Don't look at me like that. We're going inside. Are you coming, or would you rather stay out here?"

"No, I'm coming." He got up slowly-very slowly. Shadow rolled her eyes.

"Okay, that's it." She grabbed his hand and yanked him forward. He laughed, but followed her. "Shut up." She said, even though she was laughing too.

A/N: I think I'll end it there. I'm out of ideas and I still have homework to get done. I don't know when I'll get the next one out, but I hope it will be soon.


	14. More Explanations

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: I am thoroughly out of ideas for the month of January, so I'm skipping to February. Valentine's Day won't be far behind. I can't believe I've made it this far and I plan to keep going for a while. So, enjoy…chapter 14.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

January had come and gone without many incidents, just more pranks and other forms of fun between the three. Jack hadn't gotten back at Shadow and Kisa for all of the pranks, but you never know what the future holds.

It was February first and Shadow was lounging on the couch when Jack came in. She turned away from him and he was curious as to why she was avoiding him.

"Did I do something wrong?" She glared at him.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you did."

"What?" He thought hard, but he couldn't think of anything.

"I never celebrate Valentine's Day, and now, because of you, I have to." There was a silence before Jack burst out laughing.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'is that all'? That's a big problem for me. I don't know what to do!"

"You've never celebrated Valentine's Day?"

"No! I've never had a reason to. You're my first boyfriend, as pathetic as that sounds. And besides, I don't celebrate a lot of holidays. New Years, Independence Day, and Halloween are the big ones."

"What about Christmas?"

"Oh, Kisa and I don't really celebrate Christmas. It's just not our thing. I mean sure, I hang out at the North Pole and everything, but we just don't get into the spirit of things like other people." That was surprising, with as long as he had known her (meaning the alternate timeline, because he hasn't really known her that long in this one), she had never told him that. She then smiled kind of sheepishly. "But don't tell anyone at the Pole that."

"Why?"

"Well, you remember how I was there. I always act like I love Christmas when I'm with the elves. It makes them happy, but that's all it really is, an act. In fact, Kisa likes to wake me up in the mornings by blaring Christmas carols. It's a good thing we have plenty of money, because we go through a lot of radios…" She drifted off as she looked at Jack's expression. "What?"

"You really do get more and more interesting every day." She smiled at hit him in the arm.

"And you get more and more annoying every day, but I don't say anything about it."

"You just did."

"You were asking for it." Jack then looked around, confused.

"Where's Kisa?"

"At work."

"She works?" Shadow hit him again, a bit harder this time. Jack rubbed his arm. "Ow."

"Serves you right. Yes, she has a job. Nothing you would understand, but it is important."

"What is it?"

"Demon things. Like I do Digimon things and you do…whatever it is you do." He raised his eyebrow at her. "Stop looking at me like that!" She sighed. "Sorry. Just a bit stressed here." She walked past him and he didn't stop her.

Later, after Jack figured Shadow had had enough time to cool down (not that she was really mad at him, but she was stressed enough that he gave her some space for a while), he went looking for her. He went to the one spot he knew she would be, but he couldn't find her there either.

He hadn't realized he was being watched until he was approached. The girl had bright red hair that was chin-length and almost neon green eyes. She was wearing a red T-shirt and knee-length skirt and had black gloves and boots.

"You look lost. Lookin' for someone?" He hesitated.

"Yes, I'm looking for my girlfriend." The girl nodded slowly. She had a smile, like she knew something he didn't.

"Oh? What's this girl's name. I might know her."

"Shadow, her name's Shadow." The girl's smile widened.

"Yeah, I know her."

"Do you know where she is?"

"I do." She was nearly laughing at this point. Jack didn't understand what this strange girl found so funny.

"Where?"

"You're looking at her."

"What?" Now he was really confused.

"I thought you said you knew about Digimon. Don't you know digivolution when you see it?"

"This is…?"

"Jack, meet Vampiremon," she said, sticking out her hand. "My champion form. Not a very original name, but…there's not much we can do about that, now is there?" She looked at Jack. His eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. She reached up and pushed against his chin, closing his mouth. "You can stop staring at any time now."

"Sorry," he said as he regained his composure. "It's…just…I've never seen you like this."

"I know. I hadn't intended for you to. It's kind of hard to explain. Listen, how about you go on home, I'll meet you there-or rather, Shadowmon will meet you there-and answer any questions you have." Jack left-in a slight daze-and when he got home, Shadow was there waiting for him, in her human form.

"Hey, sorry about that. I didn't expect to see you there."

"Do you always go out like-?" She cut him off.

"People here know me. I digivolve when I need to get away. But I couldn't resist messing with you."

"Okay, I understand the digivolution, but what about this?" He asked, gesturing at her (meaning: he's asking about her human form). She looked at herself.

"Oh, this? This has nothing to do with digivolution. This is a disguise. Didn't I tell you Kisa is the best engineer I've ever met? We designed a card (season three of Digimon, I can't explain it well enough) that could create a separate form. It works for when we're in public. Pretty convincing, isn't it?" He didn't answer and she giggled. Suddenly Kisa came in.

"I'm home! Hey, why does he look like a dog about to get his-"

"Whoa, whoa! Don't finish that. I don't want to know." Shadow cut Kisa off (because nobody really wants to hear what was coming next, that and the rating won't allow it). "We were just having a little conversation about digivolution."

"Ah, that explains some things."

"Yeah."

"Did he see Catmon?"

"No, Vampiremon."

"Oh."

"Wait, Catmon?" Jack cut in.

"Oh, yeah. See Shadowmon is just my Rookie form. Vampiremon is my Champion form. Catmon, whom you haven't seen yet, is my Ultimate. And Charcoamon, who you also haven't met, is Mega." Shadow explained.

"Don't forget Fangmon." Kisa said.

"That's exactly what I was trying to forget."

"Why?" Jack asked.

"It's my In-Training form. We Digimon aren't too fond of that one." Before Jack had the chance to ask another question, Kisa announced:

"Well, I had a great day today, but now I'm tired and I'm going to go to bed."

"I agree, goodnight." Shadow quickly followed. She kissed Jack and rushed away. He was left standing there, with more questions than answers.

"I'll ask her tomorrow." He decided.

A/N: Well, that's where I'll end it. I have another story to work on and a whole bunch of other things I need to get done, so I'm done wasting your time for the day/night/whenever.


	15. New Trouble

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, so this is going to be the 'tomorrow' mentioned in the last chapter, although Jack never does get to asking whatever it was he was going to ask. At this point, I'm just as much in the dark as you are about what's going to be in this chapter…that's probably not good, is it? Oh well…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

The next morning, Jack decided to test something that Shadow had mentioned. He got a radio and played Christmas carols right into her ear. Needless to say, they were going to have to buy another radio (but i'm going to tell you why anyways). Shadow, without opening her eyes, reached up, grabbed the radio, and threw it hard against the wall, causing it to smash to bits.

"Wow, you weren't kidding." Shadow sat up and looked at him pointedly.

"I really hate you right now." He smirked. "I'll get you back for this, mark my words."

"You, get back at me? I think I still owe you for all of the other pranks you've played on me in the past month I've been here."

"Oh, those weren't pranks. Those were welcoming presents. You can continue to expect them until you're completely settled in. And by that, I mean, until you stop getting caught in our oh-so-obvious little traps." She smiled innocently as he mock-glared at her. "Since I'm awake now, how about breakfast?"

"Am I allowed to have coffee today?" Shadow thought for a minute, as she did everyday when he asked.

"Hmm…yes. Just don't expect a kiss anytime this morning."

"You always have to make things difficult, don't you?"

"Of course," she answered automatically. "That's why everyone loves me." He laughed, then stopped and looked at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You were being serious?" She punched him in the arm, but she was smiling while she did it.

"You're such a dork!"

"But you love me anyways." He said smugly.

"I do. I really do," she said slightly dreamily. That didn't last long, however. "I think…I don't know, I could be wrong." Jack gave her a blank look and she started giggling. He grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen, where Kisa was already sitting, eating bacon.

"Took you two long enough. What were you doing in there?" She asked, sounding annoyed, although it was clear she wasn't.

"Why? What did you hear?" Shadow retorted.

"Christmas music, and then nothing. That's what had me worried. I thought you'd finally snapped and killed him."

"Hey!" Jack butt in.

"What? If you don't want to hear it, you don't have to listen." Kisa said.

"Yeah," Shadow agreed. "You just love getting into other people's business, don't you?" Jack sighed, having learned not to try and argue with them (because he's never won before, there was no way he ever would in the future). He got coffee and sat at the table, taking a drink.

"So, what's up?" Kisa asked, as she did every morning.

"Nothing." As was his typical response.

"Okay," Shadow announced. "This is getting monotonous. We have to get out and do something."

"Yes! I know exactly where to go!" Kisa shouted. She looked at Shadow and the two smiled. Jack, meanwhile, felt lost.

"Where?" He asked.

"Action City!" The two yelled at the same time.

"What is Action City?" They gaped at him.

"What? You don't know about Action City? Have you been living under a rock?" Shadow was wide-eyed as she asked him.

"No," he said back to her. "I've been living with you." She hit him again. "Ow. Isn't that domestic abuse?"

"Why? Are you planning on reporting me?"

"I just might."

"Then no, no it's not." He laughed and kissed her. She pushed him away and made choking noises. "The smell! Oh, it's horrible! I think I'm dying!" Kisa walked up behind her and smacked her on the back of the head.

"Oh, shut up. Are we going or what?"

"I still don't know where we're going." Jack pointed out.

"Well, we could always leave you here and go have fun ourselves." Kisa threw it back in his face.

"No, I'll come." Shadow patted him on the head.

"Good boy." Another thing he had learned was to just go with whatever they did to him, because it was most likely that there was nothing he could do about it (that, and he probably deserves it).

They went outside and got into Shadow's electric-blue, mint-condition, 1954 Ford Thunderbird, with all its original parts and no modifications whatsoever. When Jack had asked about the car, this was the answer he received-even if he didn't really need nor want to know all that. They drove across town (city, actually) and to a large building, which proudly displayed the words Action City across the top.

"This is it?" He asked.

"What? It's not good enough for you?" Shadow snapped from the driver's seat.

"That's not what I said."

"That's what you implied."

"No, that's what you interpreted I implied."

"No, that's-"

"Okay! No more!" Kisa shouted at them, clearly irritated. "Can we just enjoy ourselves, or do I need to kick both of your butts?"

"No…" They both grumbled, cheated out of their argument. Shadow pulled into the front parking spot and they all got out and went inside.

"Whoa!" was Jack's first reaction. Inside was a giant arcade, laser tag, bumper cars, batting cages, and a go-cart track.

"I know, right? This place is amazing." Shadow said, watching his face. She smiled at his clear surprise and wonder. "So, what do you want to do first?"

After a long day of playing (because I don't feel like telling you everything that they did, use your imagination), they arrived home to find a note on the door.

_Did you have fun, big sister? I missed you. I'm so glad I found you again._

Jack read aloud. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Shadow said with a grave expression. "That we are in very serious trouble."

A/N: I feel like a cliffhanger today, I don't know why. Anyways, Action City is a real place and it has all of those real things. *sigh* I love it there. Also, for anyone that doesn't know what monotonous means…that's why they invented the dictionary. Go look it up. And that's the end…for now.


	16. WhiteShadowmon

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Okay, I thought the story was getting a little dry, so I threw a curveball into the mix (don't ask, I've been reading sports books). This one isn't really action-oriented, but it's setting the scene for future chapters.

Disclaimer: By now, I hope that you know that I don't own anything except my character.

"What is this?" was the first thing out of Jack's mouth after they got into the house.

"That?" Kisa asked, pointing at the note. "That would be what we call a note." He glared at her.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Are you sure?" Jack then noticed how quiet Shadow was, so he ignored Kisa's taunts.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She didn't look at him, but instead turned to Kisa, a serious look on her face.

"I won't let her hurt you." Her voice was quite, but her tone was fierce.

"I know." Kisa said calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked again. "Who is 'her'?"

"Nobody," came Shadow's response, still very quietly, but sounding almost worn out. He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.

"Don't lie to me."

"It doesn't concern you." She tried to turn away from him, but he kept his hold.

"Actually," Kisa put in. "It just might. You should tell him."

"You should have showed him." Shadow retorted bitterly, but Kisa ignored the comment.

"You can't hide it from him forever."

"Hide what?" Jack tried to ask, but they acted like he wasn't there.

"I can try."

"He needs to know."

"No he doesn't."

"What if she tries to come after him?" Shadow was quiet after that.

"Who?" Jack tried again, this time with success. The two looked at him.

"WhiteShadowmon," was the simultaneous response he received.

"Who's WhiteShadowmon?" There was a long pause before he got his next answer.

"My evil twin." Shadow practically whispered.

"Your…evil…twin?" He was really confused. Evil twin? "That doesn't really happen, does it?" He thought.

"Yes. Kisa, I think it would be easier if you showed him."

"Easier for him…or for you?" Kisa crossed her arms as she asked.

"Both."

"Fine." She turned to Jack, her hand-engulfed in black flame-held in front of his face. "Are you sure you want to see this? It's not pretty."

"I'm sure," was Jack's hesitant answer. Suddenly, his world was filled with black. When his vision cleared, he saw what he recognized as the digital world-clearly after the attack. When he looked next to him, Jack found that Kisa _and_ Shadow were there.

"Don't ask, just watch." Kisa told him. He nodded and turned forward again. The scene in front of him was the cave that was Shadowmon's home (I'll say Shadowmon when I'm talking about the flashback version). She was there-outside-just standing, looking in the distance, not at anything in particular.

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, came a gust of wind. This wind didn't flow, but sliced. It hit Shadowmon, sending her flying. She fell to the ground, rolled, and came to her feet, looking for the source of the attack. When she locked onto something, Jack followed her gaze. What he saw, shocked him further than anything ever had before.

The one who had attacked Shadowmon, looked exactly like her. Not just remotely similar, _**exactly**_ the same. The only difference was that this Digimon was white, not black, like Shadowmon was. Even her eyes-which he could see were black when he looked closely-had a whiteish glaze over them (that kind of makes it sound like she's drunk, but that's not what I meant).

"I see what you mean by twin. She looks just like you." When he looked at Shadow, he found that her gaze was glued to the scene in front of them. She probably hadn't even heard him. In fact, she probably didn't even realize he was there anymore. When Jack looked back at the scene, he noticed that he must have missed something, because the two were fighting. Not like a simple argument, or even a fist fight. This was like all-out war between the two.

"You didn't miss anything," Kisa commented. "They just naturally recognize each other as enemies." Shadow snapped out of her trance.

"She found me on her own. I knew she was out there, but I never expected to meet her."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Digimon are always aware of each other's presence. We don't know why, but we are. I knew who she was immediately, and I knew what she wanted." Shadow answered, a solemn look on her face. The scene in front of them was changing almost constantly now, showing multiple fights in multiple locations between the two of them.

"What did she want?"

"The same thing she always wants. Revenge."

"Wait. How could she want revenge if you hadn't met before?"

"It wasn't anything I did to her." The look on Jack's face-sheer confusion-prompted her to continue. "There are three types of Digimon. Those that were created from the original project are considered to be Data types, the good kind. I am what they a Vaccine, my programming wasn't complete when the project was taken over, so I'm…in between, I suppose you could call it.

"But her," she pointed at WhiteShadowmon. "She was completely created later. Those that were, are called Viruses. They are pure evil and the most dangerous of all the Digimon."

"But that doesn't explain why she wants revenge."

"Do you want to hear this?" He nodded. "Then shut up." He gave her an annoyed look, but she ignored it and kept talking. "The scientists that made us-that is, the ones that made us like this-made an error in judgment. They mistakenly thought that black meant evil and white means good. So I got the power that was meant to be hers."

"What was it?" Shadow didn't comment on the fact that he had spoken after she had told him not to. She instead pointed to the two Digimon, who were fighting in front of a lake-in an area of the digital world that was untouched by the attack.

"Shadow Spell," Shadowmon called out. Just then, a boulder shot up from the ground and knocked into WhiteShadowmon. Jack's face showed disbelief.

"Telekinesis," he muttered.

"Yes. It's called the Shadow Spell. It gives me the ability to control any physical object. It was meant to go with WhiteShadowmon's Shadow Storm, which-as you can tell-controls the air."

"So, she hates you because of something you can't control?"

"Basically."

"That's not right." She snorted.

"That's rich coming from the guy who tried to take over Christmas out of jealousy." There was a silence. Jack knew she was right, so he didn't say anything. "But that's only part of the reason why she's angry." Shadow continued. "Digimon have one or two powers, that's it. That's our limit…except for me. I already had my two powers programmed into my system when they accidentally gave me the Shadow Spell."

"So, she only has one power, and you have three." Jack didn't question, he stated.

"Yes. And she's never gotten over that. She wants to destroy me, to prove she's better. Sound familiar?" She looked directly at him and he turned away. "Of course, you never wanted to kill Santa, but it's the same basic principle. You're lucky you've been forgiven for that, and not just by me."

"I know." Shadow put her hand on his arm.

"I didn't want you to know about this. At least, not so soon after…" She paused. "I knew you'd feel bad."

"I do feel bad."

"I know. It's kind of funny, actually. But only a little." She offered him a weak smile and he brushed his hand against her cheek. He leaned down to kiss her…and then someone cleared their throat.

"Still here, you know." Kisa said.

"I know. I just don't care," came Shadow's response.

"Well, if he's not going to watch anymore, then shouldn't we leave?" Shadow glanced at the scene.

"Yes." She said quickly and as Jack turned to look, she turned his face back. "You don't want to see that." He pushed her hand out of the way and looked. The two Digimon had just been knocked into the lake and didn't resurface for a long time. Shadowmon was the first to come up and she got out of the water as quickly as possible. "I warned you." Shadow said.

The most shocking thing about the whole thing, however, was what happened next. Shadowmon was looking into the lake-her face the picture of concentration. Suddenly, WhiteShadowmon's unconscious form lifted out of the water and onto the shore. Shadowmon left her there, but just the fact that she had saved the life of her enemy was what Jack couldn't believe.

"I couldn't leave her there to die. I knew she would come back even more angry than before if I did." Shadow shrugged.

"But that's not why you did it." Jack said, surprising her. She didn't say anything. The look on her face was enough of a conformation that he was correct.

"Let's go," was the next thing out of her mouth, this being directed at Kisa. "I don't think he needs to see anymore."

"Okay." Kisa responded quietly. She also knew, without being told, the real reason Shadow had saved her counterpart all those years ago. Shadow hadn't been able to destroy a Digimon since the attack on their world. She just couldn't do it. She couldn't even watch one being destroyed, as WhiteShadowmon would have been.

Now, however, she could. The battle that was sure to come, would end with the destruction of one of them. Which one, Kisa wasn't entirely sure, but she deeply hoped that it would be her Digimon partner and best friend.

A/N: I think that's a good place to end it. I hope that it supplied enough information about WhiteShadowmon and is a good set up for the upcoming battle between the two. I don't know when that will be, but it should be soon, as WhiteShadowmon is not a patient Digimon.


	17. Silliness and Seriousness

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: I'm kind of glad that I didn't end the story when I was going to (although it is a little weird writing a story with 'Christmas' in the title when it's January), because I'm having fun exploring the characters' underlying natures (most of which, I'm making up as I go along).

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character (it's getting kind of old saying that, but sadly, I have no choice).

"Well, that was interesting." Kisa was the first to speak. Shadow gave her a blank look.

"Sure, let's go with that." The silence stretched on for a while. Jack had learned to let one of them break it, because if he tried…let's just say that it never ends well for him.

"I think we should do something," Kisa finally mentioned.

"Why?" Shadow asked.

"Because you need cheering up."

"I'm not sad."

"But you're worried."

"As I should be."

"She won't come, not yet."

"I know."

"Good, so stop your worrying."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Well, that sucks." Shadow was about to respond, but she was suddenly grabbed from behind.

"What are you doing?" She asked Jack, who was carrying her off down the hallway.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He retorted.

"I can walk, you know."

"Oh, I know. I just find this way to be much more effective…and entertaining."

"I hate you sometimes."

"I know."

"That's nice. Now, put me down."

"No."

"You'd better put me down."

"I don't want to."

"Okay, if that's really how you feel."

"It is." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jack found himself on his back on the floor, having been flipped by Shadow. She smirked at him from above.

"Never underestimate people when they seem at their most vulnerable. That's when they're at their strongest."

"I'll try to remember that." Shadow offered him her hand. He took it and pulled her down on top of him. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"I let you do that," she said.

"Sure you did." Jack responded sarcastically (he's learning, it's a miracle).

"Have I mentioned how much I hate you sometimes?"

"The subject may have come up once or twice." Shadow leaned up to kiss him, 'accidentally' pushing her elbow into a very sensitive area (think about it and I'm sure you'll figure it out, especially if you're a guy).

"Oops, sorry." She apologized unconvincingly as Jack groaned in pain.

"That was low, even for you." He replied once he regained his bearings.

"I said I was sorry." Shadow put on the most innocent expression she could muster, which wasn't much, as her effort was focused on stiffling her laughter.

"Apology not excepted." Just then, Kisa chose to come down the hallway to investigate the 'thump' noises she had heard.

"What are you doing?…on second thought, I don't want to know. Whatever it is, just try not to destroy my house while you're doing it."

"I resent that!" Shadow yelled. "This is my house too."

"You're insane."

"Oh, look who's calling the kettle black."

"Um," came a voice from below Shadow. "Could you get off of me?"

"You're the one who dragged me down here." Shadow responded to Jack's request.

"Yes, well, I'm starting to regret that decision."

"That sucks, really it does."

"Okay, I'll leave you two alone now." Kisa started to walk off.

"Hey, wait! Could you get her off of me?"

"I could, but you look so comfortable. I would hate to interrupt that." She looked at the desperate expression he had and thought for a minute (a very long minute, might I add). "Hmmm…okay. Shadowmon, get off of him, now." She said in a commanding tone.

"As you wish." Shadow rolled off of Jack and into a standing position. Jack studied her curiously. He had watched her expression turn tense, then almost entranced, then back to normal once she had stood.

"What was that?" He finally asked.

"What was what?" Shadow asked, confused.

"You. You just followed her order without question."

"You were the one who asked me to get her off of you." Kisa said.

"But what _was_ that? That blank expression, like you were hypnotized. What happened?" Jack insisted. Shadow and Kisa looked at each other with slightly worriedly. Clearly they hadn't expected him to see that, and especially not to ask about it.

"Should we tell him?" Shadow asked.

"That one's up to you. It's your problem, not mine."

"Gee, thanks." She turned to Jack and sighed. "Well, you already know everything else. Why not let you in on more?" She had a light expression, but her voice was so bitter. "It's another one of our little 'quirks'-I suppose you could call it. We don't just have a tamer for the fun of it. They are essentially our masters. We must follow any order we are given."

"But you've said no to her before." Jack protested, not completely believing what he was hearing.

"It was always a suggestion, never a direct order. I try not to do that unless I have to." Kisa said.

"Much appreciated, by the way." Shadow continued. "It was the idea that we would be controlled in battle by one person, a general, or some other figure in power.

"Unfortunately-for them, not for us-the tamers couldn't be chosen on a whim. They were born with DNA compatible with our data patterns. It could never be known when or where one would show up, or where their allegiance would lie, so it never really worked, but even so, it's engrained into our systems."

"It's not something you can take, it's something that chooses you." Jack mumbled to himself, remembering a previous conversation he had had with Santa (from the movie, if you didn't recognize it).

"Huh?" Shadow had heard him, but she was confused as to where that wisdom had suddenly come from.

"Oh, nothing." He replied, snapping out of his trance. "I was just thinking out loud."

"Don't hurt yourself," she couldn't help but tease.

"I'll try not to." He paused. "So, is there anything else I need to know about Digimon?"

"Oh, so many things…you'll learn in time. For now, let's just leave it at that, okay?"

"Fine." Shadow smiled and patted him on the head.

"Good boy."

A/N: Well, that chapter was an odd combination of silliness and seriousness. I didn't think that transition would be as easy as it was. I thought that I was going to have WhiteShadowmon in this chapter, but I guess not. Oh well, maybe in the next one.


	18. Involved

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: I've decided to introduce WhiteShadowmon, so you can find out just what kind of person (or rather, Digimon) she is. It's not time for the big battle yet, but it'll be soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my character.

Shadow and Kisa had gone out, leaving Jack alone at the house. Needless to say, he was bored, but he didn't dare go out in case they got home before him. He loved Shadow deeply, but he was truly terrified of her.

There was a knock on the door, so he went to answer it. There was nobody there and he was about to go back inside, when something caught his eye. He stepped outside, realizing immediately that this was a mistake. The thing he had seen was actually not a thing, not even a person, but a Digimon.

He quickly backed up, but was forced to jump out of the way when he heard "Shadow Storm," and a wave of air came slashing at him. The doorframe where he had just been standing exploded into tiny shards.

"It's so lovely to meet you. Shadowmon's not one to keep in touch, so I had to find you myself. It was so tiring, but I'm so glad now that I'm here." WhiteShadowmon's voice was soft and sweet, but her eyes were cruel. Jack stepped away as she came closer.

"Stay away from me." His back hit a wall and he had nowhere else to go, as she had walked right up in front of him.

"I thought we could be such friends, but it seems that my dear sister has already corrupted your mind." Jack was suddenly reminded of Lucy's face after he had frozen her parents.

"Is this what she was feeling?" He thought, referring to the fear that left him unable to move. He had never known anyone could give off an aura of such evil, but she was and it scared him more than anything ever had.

"I had planned to kill Shadowmon's tamer, but my big sister keeps an annoyingly close watch on her and you seem to be so happy together, I guess you'll have to do." She raised her hand and claws suddenly burst out of the tips of her fingers. They gleamed in the sunlight as she brought them down to strike.

He grabbed her wrist and an idea struck him just as she raised the other one. He summoned all the power he could in his current state of mind and blew out frozen air at her. She shrieked and jumped away, her hand engulfed in ice.

"Now you die!" She screamed as she pounced at him. He dove to the side just in time and her claws raked into the side of the house, leaving deep scratch marks. He hit the ground hard, but didn't stop to let the pain sink in. He ran, as pathetic as that might sound later, at the time, it was the only thing he could do. When he reached a crowded area, he stopped and reached for his cell phone. Shadow answered after the first ring.

"What do you want, Jack? I'm bus-"

"She's here," was all he said. There was a silence on the other end of the line.

"I'll be right there." She said softly, then hung up the phone. Jack was relieved. He leaned against the wall of the building behind him. People looked at him strangely, but didn't question him. Shadow found him within five minutes of the phone call, she was alone, but he suspected that Kisa wasn't far behind.

"What happened?" She asked first thing. She was clearly checking him for any signs of injury. She noticed his sleeve was dirty and slightly ripped. He found himself with his sleeve pulled up and Shadow examining his arm very closely.

"Don't worry, she didn't hurt me."

"What do you call this?" She pointed to a small (and by small, I mean _really_ small. It wasn't even bleeding) cut on his forearm.

"That's from when I fell."

"Well, why did you fall?" He was silent, trying to think of how to explain what had happened. "Exactly." She said.

"What?"

"She may not have hurt you directly, but she caused the injury, didn't she?"

"…Yes," he admitted. Shadow sighed and waved her hand over the wound, sealing it up, as well as repairing his sleeve. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry. This was my fault." She looked away, a guilty expression on her face. He gently pulled her back to face him.

"None of this is, in any way, your fault." Tears started to form in her eyes, but she wiped them away before they had the chance to fall.

"She tried to kill you to get to me. It _is_ my fault. I wouldn't blame you if you hate me for it." He looked her directly in the eyes, a serious expression on his face.

"I will never hate you. Especially not for something like this. Because it is. Not. Your. Fault." She couldn't help it this time, she burst into tears. He held her close to him, ignoring the passers-by and the strange looks they were giving the two of them. Suddenly, Shadow's hand tightened into a fist around his jacket.

"She'll never get near you again, I promise. I'll destroy her." She whispered fiercely. Kisa chose this moment to walk up to them from out of the crowd.

"She's not at the house anymore, but we're definitely going to need a new door." She rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, I couldn't catch her in time."

"That's fine. It's better this way, actually." Shadow told her, with a touch of nervousness in her tone.

"Why's that?"

"Because this way, she thinks I'll come looking for her. She thinks I'll be so angry that I'll want to fight her right away to get her back. I won't, though, and that buys us some time."

"To do what?" Jack asked curiously. He didn't care what either of them said, he was involved now, and he intended to keep it that way.

"I'm not sure yet, but that's why it's so good that we have that time."

"And what happens when she figures out that you're not coming after her?" He knew the answer, but he had to hear it to believe it. Shadow's expression darkened.

"Then she'll come after me. And I'll be ready for her."

A/N: Well, this chapter wasn't happy at all. It was so serious! Although, I'm glad that I got the chance to properly introduce WhiteShadowmon and I also got the chance for Jack to use his powers again. I don't know what to write next at all, but I'll figure it out.


	19. Cheesy yet Sweet

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: This chapter is going to have a lot of conversation, mostly because it's just a filler chapter. This is to set up for the next chapter, which I only have a slight idea as to what's going to happen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

"I'm so bored." Shadow said, laying upside-down in a chair. Her back was resting on the seat and her feet were thrown over the top. Kisa chucked something at her (probably a shoe, it wouldn't be the first time).

"Shut up, I'm busy."

"But I'm bored."

"Then go do something."

"No, I won't leave you here alone."

"She's not going to try anything."

"You don't know that."

"You said so yourself."

"What do I know?"

"…True…"

"Be quiet." Shadow pouted.

"I was, until you opened your big mouth."

"But I don't have a mouth." (she's not in her human form, she doesn't actually stay that way very often)

"I hate you."

"I hate you too." They both started laughing. It was at this moment that Jack chose to enter the room. As soon as he did, he knew he had made a mistake, but it was too late to turn around and leave. "Hey, you're back. Finally." Jack looked at the position she was in and couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you upside-down?"

"Why are you right-side-up?" He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her. At least, that's what he thought. "I like being upside-down. It's comfortable." Jack paused, not expecting her to explain.

"Uh…" He started.

"What?" Shadow raised her eyebrow at him.

"…Nothing, never mind."

"Whatever. I'm bored."

"Then do something."

"That's what I told her." Kisa commented.

"She's 'busy.'" Shadow told him, using air quotes.

"I said to go do whatever you want"

"And I told you I'm not leaving you here alone."

"What do you think?" They asked together, both looking expectantly at Jack.

"I-I have to agree with Shadow." Kisa snorted.

"You would."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Shadow defended him (at least, Jack thought that's what she was doing).

"He has to agree with you. That's his job."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is. You'd make him sleep on the couch if he didn't."

"…Okay, that's true."

"Hey!" Jack said, offended.

"What?" They both snapped at him. He sighed again, having gotten used to this a long time ago. This time, however, he felt the need to defend his own honor.

"You couldn't make me sleep on the couch." He told Shadow.

"You wanna bet?" She countered. He hesitated and thought for a minute. Finally he made his decision.

"No."

"That's what I thought." There was a long silence, Shadow being content with her easy victory. When the silence finally got to her (which it was bound to eventually), she asked Jack. "So, how was the meeting?" Kisa looked up from her work (whatever she was doing, even I don't know).

"Oh yeah, I forgot you went to that."

"Where did you think he was?" Shadow asked, not really in disbelief, because she knew where the confusion was coming from.

"How would I know? You people don't tell me anything."

"You just never pay attention."

"That's you."

"…Oh yeah." During this, Jack was just standing in the doorway, figuring that if they were really curious, they would ask again. It was then that he realized that they were both staring at him.

"What?" He asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Aren't you going to tell us?" Shadow looked annoyed.

"Yeah, you really shouldn't ignore people when they ask you a question." Kisa also put on an annoyed expression.

"It was fine," he told them, ignoring the rude comments he had come to expect of the two.

"Just fine?" Kisa asked this time.

"You never go to these things and all you can say when you finally go is that it was 'fine'?" Shadow added. This time, though, Jack knew exactly how to counter it.

"It could never compare to the last one I went to." Shadow looked confused.

"Why's that?"

"Because that's when I met you." That made her face soften and a smile to spread over it.

"Aww! That is so…cheesy." She got up and changed into her human form as she went to stand right in front of him. "But it was sweet." She leaned over (and up, I suppose. She is shorter than him) and kissed his cheek. He smiled and touched the spot.

"I remember the first time you did that."

"Yeah, you didn't deserve it."

"I know. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it."

"I know I did. You should have seen the look on your face. It was priceless." He gave her a dirty look and she smiled back innocently. "As much as I hate to admit it," she said seriously. "I'm really glad I met you."

"I'm glad I met you too." Jack leaned down to kiss Shadow, but they were interrupted by the sounds of gagging. Shadow looked pointedly at Kisa, who had gone back to her work, as if nothing had happened.

"Have I told you how much I hate you sometimes?" Kisa looked up at her.

"The subject may have come up once or twice."

"You are a terrible person."

"And you aren't? You do the same thing to me all the time."

"But I'm like your annoying little sister. That's _my_ job." Jack had to raise a question at that.

"Wait, you're younger than her?"

"Yeah." Shadow looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You look older than her."

"Are you calling me old?"

"No! I wouldn't say that."

"I know. I was kidding."

"You should really learn to tell when someone's being serious and when they're joking." Kisa put in, and Jack sighed again (he does that a lot, doesn't he?)

"I used to be able to tell. Then I met you two."

"Thanks." They said together, sarcastically.

"And to answer your question," Kisa spoke suddenly. "Shadowmon is about 23, give or take a few months. I, on the other hand, am 253 years old."

"Oh."

"Yeah." They drifted into silence again. Then Jack remembered something he had meant to tell Shadow when he first got there.

"Curtis wanted me to tell you," he started, immediately attracting Shadow's attention.

"What?"

"Bernard is back." Her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I have to go see him!"

"Oh sure," Kisa laughed. "Now you're okay with leaving us alone."

"You weren't going to stay here after you finished working anyways. And it looks to me like you're done."

"I am. But what about him?" She pointed to Jack and Shadow shrugged.

"Take him with you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I am not taking _your_ boyfriend to meet _mine_. That would be too weird."

"Well, he's not staying here and I don't think he wants to come back to the Pole with me."

"Fine." Kisa gave in. Jack knew he didn't really have any say, so he just kept his complaints to himself.

A/N: That was longer than I thought it would be. I can't wait to see how this situation turns out in the next chapter. I'm putting both sides (with Shadow _and_ with Kisa and Jack), so this ought to be interesting.


	20. Awkward

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: I haven't updated in ten days…whoops…sorry about that. I was really busy with a birthday party and the Super Bowl and the Packer's celebration party in Green Bay (four hour drive-ugh-but so worth it) but I'm updating now, and that's all that counts…I think.

Disclaimer: I claim absolutely no ownership to anything except for my character.

Shadow waited until Kisa and Jack had left-much to Kisa's annoyance-before leaving herself. She arrived at the North Pole only seconds after her departure. She was happily greeted by every single (and I do mean _every single_) elf in the vicinity, as well as several that weren't, but had rushed over at the news of her arrival.

"Hey everyone!" She replied after the normal round of 'Hi Shadow' from all the elves. "I heard Bernard's back." The response was another chorus from the elves, except this time, it was a chorus of grumbles. That was all Shadow needed to confirm it.

Meanwhile, Kisa was explaining to Jack about the situation of her boyfriend and how he was also a demon, but another kind. She was just hoping that this turned out okay, because if it didn't, she'd decided that she would have to kill Shadow.

"You of all people should understand, so just don't stare, okay?"

"'I of all people'?" Kisa sighed.

"You'll see." When they got there (I don't really know where 'there' is. It's just where all the demons live, I guess), Jack understood Kisa's comment. Her boyfriend, Shiro, was an ice demon. He had white hair and a teal-coloring in the eyes which was similar to Kisa's.

"Hey, who's he?" Was the first thing out of his mouth.

"This is Jack, he's Shadowmon's boyfriend."

"She finally got a boyfriend?"

"I know, and she calls _you_ a stick-in-the-mud."

"Did you have to bring that up?"

"Yes, as a matter-of-fact, I did." Jack inwardly sighed, knowing this was going to be a strange day.

Back at the North Pole (and, yes, it is going to keep switching like this. If you don't like it, get over it), Shadow was drinking milk and listening as Bernard started talking-which quickly turned into scolding.

"Santa told me everything. Why didn't anyone call me?" Shadow didn't bother trying to answer, knowing he wouldn't give her the chance. "And another thing, how could Curtis let things get so out of control? How could you let Curtis let things get so out of control?"

"Hey, that is not my problem." Shadow butt in, but he kept going.

"And how could you ever trust Jack Frost? And now I hear you're living together? As a couple? How did all of this happen?" He paused, and she jumped on the opportunity to talk.

"I had a lapse in judgment, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let things get so out of control, I'm sorry I stupidly fell in love with the person responsible for the whole mess, and I'm sorry that I let you down. But I really, _really_ don't care." Bernard was surprised, but his expression softened and he sighed.

"You didn't let me down. You could never do that."

"But I still royally screwed up that one."

"Maybe so," that comment didn't really make her feel better. "But you do too much already."

"Look who's talking." She mumbled and Bernard laughed (if you couldn't already tell, the two of them are good friends).

"The point is, I'm not upset with you."

"So, you're just venting your frustrations on me because I'm the only one who doesn't run away, terrified?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

"No, I've yelled at everyone else already. I didn't want you to feel left out." That caused her to nearly choke on her milk, she was laughing so hard.

At this point in time, Jack was thoroughly bored. That didn't happen to him very often and it was normally Shadow who complained, so this was a relatively new experience for him. Kisa didn't interact with Shiro, whether it was only because he was there, or if this was normal for them, he couldn't tell. He figured that he could ask Shadow later.

"So," the prompt snapped Jack out of his thoughts. "Kisa tells me you're the winter sprite." That irked him a bit, never having liked the term 'sprite.'

"Yes," he replied tightly.

"You like it?"

"It's okay."

"Why is everything just 'okay' with you?" Kisa asked and Jack shrugged. "Geez, you're even more of a stick-in-the-mud than he is." She said, pointing to Shiro, who ignored it (heck, he's even more used to it by now than Jack is).

"You must be pretty brave, living with those two." Shiro continued, teasingly, which earned him a punch in the arm. Jack was relived that he wasn't the only one to receive this punishment.

"It can be a challenge sometimes." This comment earned him the same thing, although he had a feeling that this punch was a bit harder than the last. The rest of the stay wasn't so boring after that.

At the end of the day, Shadow was happy to be home. She had gotten there before Kisa and Jack, and she found herself relieved. That relief was short-lived as she quickly became bored. When Kisa and Jack finally did return, they weren't really surprised to find her laying up-side-down in her chair.

"How long have you been here?" Kisa asked, her eyebrow raised.

"About…uh…half an hour." Shadow responded slowly.

"And you got bored that fast?"

"Is it really that shocking?" Kisa pretended to think this over for a moment.

"No," she said pointedly. So far, Jack had been silent, as he was being ignored. Shadow looked at him then.

"Have fun?" She asked him.

"Uh…it was…"

"Please," Kisa practically begged. "Do _not_ say 'okay' again."

"Again?" Shadow complained.

"I swear, he said it, like, ten times."

"You need to broaden your vocabulary." Jack sighed, not even bothering to try and explain. "Well, now that you're home, I'm off to bed. I have stuff to do in the morning."

"What stuff?" Kisa asked suspiciously and Shadow paused.

"…I'll let you know when I come up with something." They laughed and Shadow went to her room and slipped under the blankets. Exactly fifteen minutes later (yes, she was counting), the covers shifted and another person joined her on the bed.

"Took you long enough." She mumbled sleepily.

"Sorry." Jack replied as Shadow curled around him. She just mumbled something else back to him-something he couldn't make out-before drifting into sleep. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and waiting for sleep to overtake him as well.

A/N: I think that's one of the first times I've ended in a way that doesn't leave you hanging. It may have happened before…I don't know. That was a strange mix of comedy and sweet (very much cheesy) romance (although, only in the very end, so it was mostly comedy…I think…that's what I was going for, at least).


	21. Happy Valentine's Day

The Christmas Shadow

Author's Note: Wow, I just read my entire story and realized that I have _so_ many typos, it's not even funny. I've decided that when I'm finished with the story, I'm going to go back and fix them all, but for now, I'll just leave it be (no matter how annoying it is).

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my character.

Days had passed without incident, but Shadow's nerves were still frayed. Kisa had instructed Jack not to try and calm her, but he didn't listen. He walked up to her from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. Shadow jumped and lashed out, leaving a four long, deep claw-marks on his forearm.

"Oh my god! Jack, I am so sorry! I didn't even see you there."

"No, it's my fault." Jack told her, clutching his bleeding arm. "I shouldn't have startled you."

"Um…I-I can fix that." She pointed and he held out his arm to her. The wound-as well as the sleeve-mended itself. "It'll still hurt for a while-phantom pain, it's called-but that will fade."

"Thanks."

"You shouldn't be thanking me. After all, I was the one that caused the wound in the first place."

"You don't seem too upset about it."

"Oh, I'm not. Like you said, you startled me. I could've sworn that I heard Kisa warn you about this."

"I did," Kisa said as she came into the room. "He didn't listen."

"Obviously. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation." Shadow responded, walking into the kitchen. On the table was a large package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. "Whoa. That's, like, the mother-load of peanut butter." Jack had followed her into the room and was leaning against the wall, looking satisfied with himself.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Shadow glanced at the calendar and saw that is was, indeed, February 14th.

"I totally forgot about that," she grabbed a peanut butter cup and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, so good." Once she had swallowed, she turned to Jack, a questioning look on her face. "Hey, how did you know I love peanut butter? I never told you that." Jack looked like he was struggling to find an answer. He turned to Kisa, who held her hands up in defense.

"Hey, don't get me involved. It's not my fault you didn't tell her."

"You could have told her." Jack accused back at her.

"That's not for me to tell."

"You tell her everything else."

"I refuse to be the person she's mad at because I was stupid enough to tell her."

"If it's that bad," Shadow cut into the argument. "Then I'm going to be mad at both of you for _not_ telling me. So, I suggest you just get it over with." Kisa patted Jack on the shoulder.

"It's a good thing you got her all that peanut butter. She might just forgive you before the year is out." With that said, she grabbed her coat and headed out the door, leaving Jack alone with a very irritated and left-out-feeling Shadow.

"Well?" She asked expectantly.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this right now…" He faded off when Shadow glared at him.

"Do you remember how it felt when I slapped you the last time you made me mad?"

"Yes."

"Start talking, or you'll wish I'd hit you as _softly_ as I did that time." He gulped before launching into a recollection of the events of the previous Christmas. As he explained, he could see Shadow's pupils slowly receding into slits, revealing her green irises. When he finished, he backed up slowly until he hit a wall.

"Jack." Shadow said calmly, as she walked up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "I'm going to kill you." At this point, she had lost her calm disposition. "How dare you? Do you have any idea what you've done, creating an alternate reality? Do you realize the consequences that can come of something like that?"

"But, it's okay now." Jack said, nervously. "It's been fixed."

"No, you don't get it! You may no longer be conscious to that reality anymore, but it's still there. You can't destroy a dimension once it's been created. I would know. That's what the Digital World is, an alternate reality inside the computer. It can't be destroyed, not completely. You've done a terrible thing, and it _can't_ be fixed."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Would you have cared if you did?"

"…Probably not," he answered truthfully.

"You should have told me sooner. I don't like the idea of another me running around in some other dimension. It's kind of creepy." By now, Shadow had calmed substantially and her eyes had returned to normal. "Did you know that realities can cross into each other? That's what happened to the Digital World and Earth. The two worlds are overlapping. I _really_ don't want to meet this 'other me.' That would be even more creepy."

"She's a lot like you, actually."

"At least that one is. You never know how many 'other yous" could be out there and it's always nice to know that some of them are like you. Although, I hope she's not _exactly_ like me, because if our worlds ever do cross, I don't want you kissing the wrong one."

"That would never happen."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"How do you know?"

"Because, she's not nearly as beautiful as you."

"Wow, how did I get stuck with the cheesiest boyfriend in the universe?"

"You're just lucky."

"The worst thing is that I can't stay mad at you because of it."

"I think that's a pretty good thing."

"You would."

"You're right, I would." Jack leaned down to kiss her, but she put her hand to his mouth.

"Hold on. Just because I'm not mad at you anymore, doesn't mean I forgive you."

"You're not going to make me sleep on the couch, are you?" He asked in mock horror.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Let me know when you figure it out."

"Oh, you'll be the first to know." Shadow was about to walk away, but she decided to make one more comment. "You know, you're becoming more and more like Kisa and I every day."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes, it means we've succeeded in corrupting your mind."

"That sounds more like a bad thing."

"That's a matter of opinion."

"And what's _your_ opinion?"

"…That you are so sleeping on the couch tonight." Shadow smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."

A/N: I'm a couple of days late for Valentine's Day, I know. But at least I got close-only two days off (I'm so proud of myself). That chapter wasn't completely pointless for once (another thing I am immensely proud of), even if it still wasn't very good…Oh well, if you don't like it, that's not my problem. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.


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